Major Frank W. Johnson

The Lord had a plan for Frank. As a young teenager in Rockford Illinois Frank attended a tent Revival meeting. When the invitation was given Frank made his way down the sawdust floor to the altar and knelt on cement blocks, gave his heart and life to the Lord, and felt called into the ministry. Frank was an innovative, ingenious, and consistent hard worker.

He worked many jobs. At the age of 13 he would get up at 3:30 am and walk 5 miles delivering the Rockford Morning Star to his 150 customers and the bakery traded him a biscuit for a newspaper so at 5 am when he arrived home he could sleep for a few hours and then get up and go to school. Frank bought the paper for 3 cents and sold it for the regular price of 10 cents making a 300% profit. At 15 he began delivering mail for the Postal Service and then worked at the AM Rock corporation at the punch press. Frank paid his tithe and saved enough money that he was able to buy a 1937 Red Ford in 1943. Frank played in the Rockford East High School band, the Salvation Army band, and was active at The Salvation Army Corps.

Frank graduated from East High School in 1945 and moved to Chicago to attend The Salvation Army School for Officers Training (Seminary). On his first night in Chicago, he was alone, he went to a box of scripture verses and picked one out, it read “Be thou faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life” Revelation 2:10. This became Frank’s guiding verse throughout his life. Frank entered The Salvation Army School for Officers Training in 1945. He served on a few appointments as a single officer and was then appointed to serve on the staff of the S.F.O.T. It was there that he met, fell in love, and married Captain Miriam Evans. Frank and Miriam married on June 19th in 1952 and began their lifelong love story.

Frank and Miriam served as Salvation Army officers and developed a unique ministry together. Frank created scenes and messages through Scene-O-Felt (works of art that depicted Bible stories) and Christian magic programs and Miriam narrated the stories that Frank portrayed and added music to the performance as a pianist and singer. Frank and Miriam were a team in every sense of the word. Frank built his own magic tricks and attended and taught at The Fellowship of Christian Magicians conferences. Their daughters Beth and Karla joined their ministry at a young age and assisted by helping their Dad with magic shows and singing with their Mother.

Beth recalls times when they were visiting a Salvation Army corps or another church to do a program, she would ask her Dad if there was anything he needed her to help with, after helping to carry in all the supplies and set up. Frank would say to Beth, “Well honey, why don’t you see what God has for you today, see who needs your help or if you can brighten someone’s day”. With those few words of purpose and encouragement, Beth learned that she could be of service, that she was capable, and that she could be intentional about finding ways to love others. The Johnson family traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada ministering, performing, touching hearts and lives, and winning souls for the Lord. Throughout Frank’s life, he exemplified the love of Christ in thought, word, and deed with a joyful spirit, a loving heart, and a positive attitude.

These lessons of love and service were found every day in the way Frank parented, in the way he loved his Miriam, and in the way he ministered to others. Frank served for 46 years as an active Salvation Army officer, he was commissioned in 1946 and retired in 1992. Frank and Miriam continued to minister together with their daughter Beth even after they moved to California in 2014, putting on programs at their retirement home at Freedom Village, even after Miriam passed in 2016 Frank and Beth performed together doing Scene-o-Felt programs and ministering.

Frank was known not only for his ministry with magic and Scene-O-Felt but also for his ability to improve a situation at corps appointments through insight, problem-solving, paying off debts, fundraising, and keen management skills. Frank began the Tree of Lights campaigns and was an insightful and creative fundraiser for The Salvation Army. He was so successful that on more than one occasion he was offered lucrative positions in the private sector but turned them down saying that he was called to serve the Lord as a Salvation Army officer. He ran capital campaigns, brought in community organizations, and challenged those organizations to compete against one another for fundraising efforts to support those in need. Often Frank was given appointments where he needed to improve a challenging situation and he made sure that the finances were solid, honesty was upheld, and that he was a good steward of The Salvation Army’s money because, as he said, it was “the Lord’s money”. Frank ran a prison ministry where he met and ministered to the serial killer Charles Starkweather among many others. Frank set up the first National Disaster training program at the Civil Defense College and revamped the Salvation Army’s Supplies and Purchasing Trade Department consolidating automobile purchases and negotiating an agreement with the 3 major automobile manufacturers, saving the Salvation Army much-needed funds.

Frank was also known for his smile and kindness, his jokes, his gifts of encouragement, his business savvy, his creativity, his tender heart, but above all, Frank’s deep abiding love for the Lord was the most remarkable. This was evidenced every day by his unconditional love for Miriam and their two girls, his extended family, and all the people that he encountered.

Upon meeting Frank, he would make you feel at ease, he may tell you a joke, and he would leave you with a word of encouragement. Frank always had a smile even when life was difficult, he was loyal, and reliable, and was always kind. The highest tribute of Frank is that he was a consistent earthly example of our Heavenly Father. He loved the Lord and he loved others. Every night for as long as he was physically able, he would kneel by his bedside and pray. Frank was the best Daddy in the world and is deeply missed.

Frank is survived by his loving daughter Beth, his five grandchildren, Jason, Brandon, Jeremy, Avery, and Abby, his four great-grandchildren, and his sister Roberta (Johnson) Welch. He is proceeded in death by his wife Miriam and his daughter, Karla.

The Celebration of Frank’s life will be held on Saturday, August 21, 2021, at 3 pm at The Salvation Army Rockford Temple Corps located at 500 South Rockford Avenue, Rockford, Il. 61104. The viewing and time for meeting the family will precede the service at 2 pm.

Memorials may be sent to The Salvation Army Rockford Temple Corps located at 500 South Rockford Avenue, Rockford, Il. 61104. In lieu of flowers, Frank’s family asks that you support The Salvation Army World Services or the local Salvation Army Corps in Rockford.

Frank will be laid to rest with Miriam and Karla and so many of their friends and fellow officers at The Salvation Army’s Cemetery at Glen Oak Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.