The Rev. Zachary William Johnson

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 7, 2023, 10:30AM PT, at Hill Avenue Grace Lutheran Church, 73 N. Hill Ave., Pasadena, CA. The service will be available via livestream through Zoom (contact the church office for details) and on the Hill Avenue Grace Lutheran Church Facebook page.

A second memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 18, 2023, 10:30AM CT, at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 4420 Center Point Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA. Pre-service special music will begin at 10:00AM.

Zach was born on June 10, 1984, to parents Gary L. Johnson and Sara Beth Akre, in Watford City, ND. On August 19, 1984, he was welcomed into the body of Christ through holy baptism at the Akre family’s home congregation, Bethel Lutheran Church, Brush Prairie, WA.

As a young child, Zach was friendly, outgoing, loving, creative, kind-hearted, energetic, joyful, goofy, curious, and spirited. Fortunately, for those who knew and loved him, he continued to exemplify these characteristics well into adulthood.

During his childhood and adolescence, Zach was blessed to call various communities “home” and be loved on and cared for by several faith communities. “Home” included Watford City, ND; rural Byron, MN/Hayfield, MN; Ocean Shores, WA; University Place, WA; Joice/Lake Mills, IA; and Dysart, IA.

Zach was a 2002 graduate of Lake Mills High School, a 2007 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, and a 2012 graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

While in middle school and high school, Zach was involved in a variety of activities; his favorite activities included chorus, musicals, speech club, science club, student council, baseball, and golf. During middle school, he also participated in the confirmation program at Bethany Lutheran Church in Joice, IA, where he celebrated his affirmation of baptism on April 26, 1998. In addition to his high school activities, he enjoyed serving in worship and participating in the choir and youth group at Salem Lutheran Church in Lake Mills, IA.

In 2002, Zach enrolled as a choral music education major at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, IA. While at UNI, he participated in multiple choral ensembles and was also active in worship and fellowship activities at the Lutheran Student Center campus ministry. As a summer camp counselor, he began actively discerning how God was calling him to use his gifts in service to the Church and to the world and eventually felt called to become a pastor.

After almost 7 years of dating, Zach finally married his high school sweetheart Kristin (Sletten) on May 13, 2006. They lived in Waterloo, IA, until moving to Chicago in 2008, when Zach enrolled at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He absolutely loved studying, exploring, and living in Chicago and was grateful for the formative experiences he had as a seminarian and future pastor.

On July 15, 2012, Zach was ordained into the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at Zion Lutheran Church in Dysart, IA. He was blessed to serve as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, Evansville, MN; St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, IA; and Hill Avenue Grace Lutheran Church, Pasadena, CA. He loved being a pastor and enjoyed many ministry activities especially presiding in worship, preaching, teaching through Bible studies, and providing pastoral care.

In addition to his pastoral vocation, one of the other vocations Zach most enjoyed and appreciated was his calling as Dad/Daddy to Katherine and Rosalie. Some of his favorite dad/daddy-daughter activities were swimming, cooking, baking, laughing together at jokes and puns, watching TV and movies, playing board games and video games, and going to baseball games. Whenever possible, he was also grateful for the opportunity to take the girls to the beach, his “happy place.”

In late 2020, Zach was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), which caused him chronic pain, muscle loss, weakness, foot drop, and severe fatigue. Despite multiple setbacks, he endured and demonstrated great courage, strength/vulnerability, and patience. Eventually, he made significant progress in his CIDP journey, which was made possible thanks to ongoing care and support from his physicians, specialists, physical therapists, and IVIg nurses.

Around the same time of his CIDP diagnosis, Zach learned that he would eventually experience kidney failure and would need dialysis and/or a kidney transplant in the years ahead. On December 14, 2022, he was given new life when he and Kristin participated in a kidney paired donation. Both he and Kristin were grateful for the experience and for this new chapter in their journey together. For almost 9 months, Zach and family enjoyed an improved quality of life – even taking a family road trip to the Midwest this past spring – and looked forward to creating more memories together.

Just a few months prior to his death, Zach was blessed with the opportunity to plan and lead Bible studies on disability justice at the Southwest California Synod assembly. As a pastor with disabilities, he felt called by God to be an advocate, to help the Church and society understand the need for improved and increased accessibility, and to present a different approach to understanding the healing stories in the gospels. He spoke openly about his experience as a person with disabilities and eventually embraced it as part of his identity, who God created him to be.

Zach was an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Twins, the Cedar Rapids Kernels, and the UNI Panthers. He was also a self-described choral music nerd, Star Wars geek, liturgy nerd, and a gamer. However, first and foremost, he would describe himself as a beloved child of God, broken yet made whole in Christ, forgiven and freed to share God’s love and grace with others. While living in the Pacific Northwest, Zach developed a special connection with the coast and with the ocean. This connection to the water continued to be an essential part of Zach’s identity as a person, as a pastor, and more specifically, as a baptized child of God.

Those left to cherish his memory and continue his legacy include his wife Kristin and daughters Katherine and Rosalie, Santa Clarita, CA; parents, the Rev. Gary L. Johnson and Luann Alemao-Johnson, Cedar Falls, IA; brother Garrett Johnson, Dubuque, IA; sister Jessamyn Johnson and nephew Jonas Duffy, Decorah, IA; brother Andrew Alemao, Austin, TX; parents-in-law James and Dagmar Sletten, Lake Mills, IA; sister-in-law Adrienne (Jason) Hancock, Ankeny, IA; brother-in-law Ryan (Megan) Sletten, Northwood, IA; his extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins; many dear friends and colleagues; and his beloved dog Snickers.

He was preceded in death by his mother, the Rev. Sara Beth Akre; grandparents Ezra “Pat” and Irene Johnson, C.W. “Bill” and Virginia “Ginny” Akre, Elaine Akre, and Francis and Mary Lou Costa; uncle and godfather William “Buck” Akre; and his beloved cat Izzy.

In memory of Zach, please consider registering as an organ, eye, and tissue donor (https://registerme.org) and share your wishes with your loved ones. Also, if you feel so moved by the Spirit, please consider becoming a living kidney donor (https://www.kidneyregistry.org/for-donors/).

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in memory of Zach to:

Hill Avenue Grace Lutheran Church food shelf ministry

73 N. Hill Ave.

Pasadena, CA 91106

Southwest California Synod accessibility fund

1300 E. Colorado St.

Glendale, CA 91205

St. Andrew Lutheran Church garden ministry

4420 Center Point Rd. NE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52402

GBS-CIDP Foundation International

375 E. Elm St., Suite 101

Conshohocken, PA 19428

https://www.gbs-cidp.org

Katherine’s & Rosalie’s education savings accounts:

Kristin Johnson

c/o Melanie Meyer, Thrivent

28015 Smyth Dr.

Valencia, CA 91355

Rest eternal, grant him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him.