Ronald Cleve Johnson

Ronald Cleve Johnson, 81, passed peacefully on November 1, 2022. Ron was born on June 19, 1941, in Des Moines, IA, to Cleve “Whitey” and Evelyn (Thompson) Johnson.

Ron graduated from North High School in 1959 and received a BA from Drake University in 1963. He met Sandy Masolini in 1957 while “scooping the loop” in downtown Des Moines and the two married in 1962. The couple welcomed their first child, Michelle, in 1964, and a son, Scott, in 1966. Ron and Sandy were longtime residents of Des Moines until Ron’s retirement in 1999. During retirement, they spent their winters in Las Vegas and their summers with family in Illinois.

Ron joined Bankers Life Company (now Principal Financial Group) in 1964. During his 35-year career with Principal, Ron earned a variety of industry designations, including Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, Registered Health Underwriter, and a fellowship in the LIMRA Leadership Institute. He served as Chairman of the Health Insurance Association of America’s Disability Income Committee.

Over the years, Ron participated in a variety of civic activities, including the United Way Loaned Executive Program, as a Junior Achievement Program advisor, and served on the Alumni Advisory Committee of Drake University’s School of Business. He served on the Executive Board of the Mid-Iowa Council for the Boy Scouts of America for a number of years and served as President between 1999 and 2000.

While Ron enjoyed these community contributions, by far, his favorite activities were found in the many years he spent coaching Michelle in the Des Moines Girls Softball League and Scott in the Beaverdale Little League. Ron also enjoyed traveling abroad and to all 50 states and auto racing, especially the Sprint Cars at Knoxville Speedway.

Ron will be remembered as being a devoted and proud husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend. Left to cherish his memory are his children, Michelle and Scott; grandchildren, Jake and Hanna Droessler and Maxwell and Walter Johnson; siblings, Roger (Jan) Johnson of Des Moines, IA and Randall (Donna) Johnson of St. Paul, MN. He was also uncle to Eve (Michael) Brafford, Evan and Reed Johnson and great-uncle to Oskar and Leif Brafford. Ron was preceded in death by his beloved wife of nearly 60 years, Sandy; his parents; and his son-in-law, Joe Droessler.

We will forever miss his guidance, wry humor, devotion to his family, and his ever-present calmness.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, from 4-7 pm at McLaren’s Resthaven Chapel, 801 19th Street, West Des Moines, IA. Funeral services and entombment will be held on Thursday, November 10, 2022, at 1:00 pm at McLaren's Resthaven Chapel.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Ron’s honor to the University of Illinois STAR Center for Sarcoidosis, 1740 West Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60612, or to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, www.pancan.org.

PS: Sandy - I'm on my way back to you. - Love, Ron