Leslie Ben Johnsen

Leslie Ben Johnsen passed away peacefully on December 20, 2022, in Rockledge, Florida, at 69, surrounded by his wife, two sons and mother after a seven-month battle with cancer. He was predeceased by his brother Robert R. Johnsen and his father, Clayton J. Johnsen. He is survived by his wife, Gail M. Johnsen, his two sons, Michael L. Johnsen and Daniel P. Johnsen and his mother, Maxine I. Johnsen.

Leslie was born July 25, 1953, in Belleville, Illinois, to Clayton and Maxine Johnsen. He grew up as an Air Force military dependent living in Panama, Montana, Hawaii and Florida. As a young boy, Leslie displayed an exceptional work ethic and keen attention to detail, evidenced in his first job as a newspaper boy. The Waipahu, a Hawaiian town, newspaper specially recognized him as the "News Paper Delivery Boy of the Year" because of his faithfulness and diligence in placing each of his 120+ customers' newspapers in their desired spot. This work ethic and attention to detail also made Leslie a good student earning him scholarships/internships and enabling him to be a "first-generation" college graduate completing both a bachelor's and master's degree. Upon completing his academic career, He entered the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant and served 7 ½ years. While serving in the Air Force, he was known for his exceptional organizational and people skills, perfect for his responsibilities as a Commander/Executive Support Office. Those he led, along with his fellow officers and commanding officers, regarded him a fair and compassionate commander -- firm in his strength and gentle in his manner. He loved serving his country but, in 1986, chose to depart the Air Force at the rank of Captain to start a new chapter as a civilian.

In 1991 Leslie moved to the Washington Metropolitan area, Herndon, Virginia. Here he married Gail Johnsen and became the father of two sons, Michael and Daniel. Leslie worked the next 30 years for various technical companies, eventually landing at Northrup Grumman as a Federal Government Contractor serving the US Department of State. He was a Project Manager Professional – managing the global communications systems serving the 250 US embassies worldwide. He was most proud of these last ten years. It utilized his organizational and consensus-building skills, keen insight into the networking world and diplomatic environment, and his quick-witted personality to ensure smooth and favorable outcomes for each embassy. His colleagues respected him for his clever humor, high moral ethics and exceptional Project Management skills. He retired in 2020.

While Leslie's work was important to him, his faith in Jesus Christ as His personal Savior and his life as a husband, father, son and friend mattered most. He loved God and cultivated a beautiful, intimate and profoundly loving relationship with God. This love enabled him to selflessly be a husband, father and son to his family and a loyal, faithful friend to his church and community. His greatest passion was mentoring his sons. He walked out his faith with them, taught them many practical living skills especially those relating to using tools for house, yard and auto maintenance and introduced them to his love of boating and pistol shooting. Leslie was also a faithful, loyal friend with the good fortune of having many deeply profound male friendships. Men will miss Leslie's wise counsel, unconditional love, vulnerability, humor, and example of total commitment to following Jesus. And finally, Leslie was a devoted son and loving husband. He considered being a husband and son his most high calling from God and sought to love well and care diligently for the women entrusted to his care. All will greatly miss Leslie's gracious presence in their lives.

A memorial service will be held at Life Event Center at Florida Memorial Gardens on Sunday, January 22, 2022. Visitation will be held from 1:00 pm until the service hour. There will be a reception following the memorial service at the funeral home.

For Donations in Memory of Leslie B Johnsen, please consider Moffitt Cancer Center at https://moffitt.org/ or Christian Healing Ministries at https://www.christianhealingmin.org.