Eric Owen Johnson

Eric Own Johnson, a retired budget analyst with a gentle, soft-spoken nature and an endless love for learning, died May 12 of a heart attack. Rosalee, his wife of 53 years and partner in their preschool and child-care business, was with him at home when he was stricken. He was 82.

Eric, was born May 30, 1929, in Portland, Ore., to immigrants Winifred (of Wales) and Bernard (of Sweden) Johnson. Eric graduated from Franklin High School in Portland and attended Vanport College until it was destroyed on his birthday in 1948 by the Vanport flood. Eric transferred to the University of Oregon, where he earned a degree in business administration with a specialty in accounting.

He served in the Navy in the Korean theater and shore assignments in San Diego and Washington, D.C., before returning to Portland and a career with Consolidated Freightways as a budget analyst. He met Rosalee Mitchell at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Portland and they were married on Aug. 16, 1958. Their daughter Gwen was born in 1964. Consolidated Freightways moved the Johnsons to Menlo Park, Calif.,in 1966 where Eric continued working, until his retirement in 1989.

In 1996, following the birth of a grandson in the Portland area, they moved to Vancouver to operate the Gingerbread House and Jack and Jill House, the preschool and child-care centers that Rosalee's parents had started in 1948. For Eric, it was a second career. He served until his death as finance and maintenance manager and grocery shopper for the two centers.

Eric was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Portland and the Salmon Creek Kiwanis Club. He is remembered by friends and family for his love of gardening, including an expertise with tomatoes, and his love for learning. In retirement, he taught himself Swedish. He was an avid reader of everything from Louis L'Amour westerns, to John Grisham spine-tinglers to biographies of famous Americans. He was also a dedicated newspaper reader. Every morning he gathered from the font steps The Columbian and The Oregonian and returned to bed with 2 cups of coffee, where he and Rosalee each read both.

Eric Johnson was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Ben. He is survived by his wife, Rosalee, their daughter Gwen Ericka Lusk, son-in-law John Lusk and grandchildren Trevor, 17, and Lauren, 14, all of Tigard, Ore.; nephews Kim and Eric Johnson, niece Susan Klarquist, and sister-in-law Barbara Johnson all of Portland.

Internment is planned for 12 noon Saturday, May 19 at Northwood Park Cemetery, 16407 NE 15th Ave., Ridgefield. A memorial service will follow at First Presbyterian Church, Portland, 2pm. Vancouver Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.