Born July 3, 1942 Idaho Falls Idaho
Died Jan. 9, 2012 Spokane Washington
Son of Emil Leroy Johnson and Verla Mae Clay
He was the 6th child of 13; Ore, Lilas, Carol, Darla, Violet, Richard, Tina, Terry, Randy Gaye, Merritt, Ronda, and Laverta.
Lilas was so excited when they brought Richard home. She finally had a little brother to play with. Darla said he was an ornery little boy.
Married Marie Ostrander Nov 23rd 1960 for 24 years and was blessed with 4 children—Kenneth, Barbara, Duane and Don.
Then, Married Wanda Lee Jenson on Aug 17, 1985 with her children Ronnie, Renee, Loren and together unofficially adopted Lila as their own. If you ask her, Richard’s her Dad. They have 26 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. And of course we need to include their newest to the family, Buddy.
As I went around and asked friends and family different things about Richard, these specific words or phrases stand out to describe the man I knew as my Uncle Richard. They are: a giving heart, rock solid, my pillar, aka “a hell of a man”, good sense of humor, caring, honest, a hard worker, camping, fishing, Elk River, contagious smile, prankster.
Some memories I like to share are from Angie who remembers when she was little and she had Grandpa Johnson’s bolo tie. Richard wanted it. She remembered how good he was to her so she wanted to do the same for him and she gave it to him. A nephew said how he set a good example. He hardly remembers hearing him swear except one time when he just got a new truck and hit it with the trailer hitch.
Richard loved to pull pranks from trying to give someone a hot foot to getting Ronda to talk to a water pump. One is on Violet. While they were walking at Elk Mountain she came across this big perfect shaped pine cone. She placed it on a tree stamp so she could find it on her way back. Richard replaced it with one 3x’s smaller. Violet couldn’t figure what happened until she looked at Richard and saw his grin. And of course his legacy carries on. I came across some of his grandchildren to get some thoughts from them. None could say anything but I noticed one flipping the light switch on and off and they were giggling. I asked what was up. “Oh, that’s my Dad in the bathroom. We’re just messing with him.”
He was a good father. There was a big snake in their yard when they lived in Michigan. Even though he was terrified of snakes, he went out and killed it and put it in the garbage can. But several times, to give him peace of mind, he checked the garbage just to be sure that the snake was still there and not back in the yard. That show’s courage and love for his family. He told Ronda, in his life story, he wanted his children to be kind to others. He taught well by his example. I was told he would give the shirt off his back, literally, if need to help another out. My mom admired him very much on how he would include everyone. He cared for the young and the elderly and, with the help of a few, started the Christmas Basket program which has been going for 36 years. Last Christmas, baskets helped 306 families. He believed in God and told a grandson God will not put you through anything you cannot handle. I think Richard helped many lighten their load they were carrying.
Let’s not forget Richard was a good cook. We all had a chance to sample his cooking and it will be missed.
Richard accepted you for who you were, no matter what, and made you feel welcome. A story was told to me of Steven’s son when he was 15 years old. Richard allowed him to drive his boat so the kids could water ski. How special that made Steven’s son feel.
In honor of Richard, the pall bearers wore either a tie or something that was his.
May we as Richard’s family, friends, or co-workers remember his example and be comforted and celebrate his life by carrying on his legacy by being kind to others.
And as my father Milton would say, “Remember, you’re loved.”
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