Willard J. Johnson

Willard J. Johnson, 92, of Rockford passed away on Thursday February 25, 2021 at his residence with family by his side. Willard was born on March 25, 1928 in Northfield, MN the son of William H. and Mary (Werich) Johnson. He married Betty Jean Arndt on June 7, 1948 and she preceded him in death on October 28, 2013 after 65 years of marriage. Willard graduated from Northfield High School and served in the Coast Guard during WWII. He worked for Northwestern Bell until 1954, Great Plains Gas until 1966, and Home Town Dairy until 1967 and was retired from Chrysler in 1991. Willard’s hobbies included camping, bowling and traveling.

His children survive Willard: Barbara Rozier Wheatley (Jere) of Waterloo, IA; Douglas Johnson of Brownsville, WI; Kenneth Johnson of Lomira, WI; Kathleen Dill (Jim) of Rockford, IL; seven grandchildren: Michel Sheehan (John) of Cedar Falls, IA; Steven Rozier (Jill) of Incline Village, NV; Wesley Johnson (Shelia) of San Francisco, CA; Denise Virk(Mike) of Rockford, IL; Jordan Johnson (Ashlee) of Evansville, WI; Kelsey Johnson of Brownsville, WI; Jimmy Dill of Machesney Park, IL; eight great-grandchildren: Darby Sheehan of Milwaukee, WI; Avery Sheehan of Cedar Falls, IA; Alex, Jasmine and Jayden Virk all of Rockford, IL; Danielle Rozier of Incline Village, NV; Marcus Johnson of San Francisco, CA; Morrison Johnson of Evansville, WI.

Willard was preceded by his wife Betty, son-in-law Daniel Rozier and his daughter-in-law Julie Johnson.

Service to celebrate Willard’s life will be 2:00 pm Friday March 5, 2021 at Sunset Funeral Home 8800 N. Alpine Road in Machesney Park with Military Honors; visitation for Willard will be from 1:00-2:00 pm at the funeral home on Friday. Entombment will follow at Chapel of Peace. A live streamed funeral service will also be made available at approximately 2:00 pm Friday March 5th at https://www.facebook.com/SunsetFuneralHomeIL