Gary Earl Johnson, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and son, died Tuesday, August 19, 1997. He was 55 and lived in Sandy. Gary lived a life of the heart and the mind and the spirit, and set an example for all who knew him of how one man can love and be loved by so many in return.
Born April 16, 1942 in Murray, the oldest son of Erland E. and Marjorie Walker Johnson. Gary lived all around the intermountain west - in Wyoming, Idaho and especially the place he loved best, Durango, Colo. - before returning to Salt Lake City. He retired from Williams Companies in 1996, after 33 years. He also loved his church and served in various leadership positions in the LDS Church including bishoprics, High Priest group leader and high councilman.Gary loved books and nature in seemingly equal measure - he was as at home in a library as in a high Wasatch meadow. In his youth he hunted and fished. Later he found joy in testing his own physical limits, especially on his bicycle. He rode in 9 of the last 10 MS 150 mile rides across Utah. He jogged, and dreamed -- together with his wife of 35 years, Kathleen -- of perfecting his golf swing. He was a quiet man and a great listener, and when he spoke, you knew he had something to say that would be worth listening to.
He is survived by his wife, Kathleen, his mother, Marge, Midvale; two brothers, Wayne (Mary), Kirk (Frances), two sisters, Pat Nosack (Bob) and Wendy Sue Neal (Gary), three children and seven grandchildren. His oldest son, Wade, and his wife, Rahn-Margret and their four children, Tyler, Parker, Holly and Krysta - live in Marshalltown, Iowa. Bradley, the second oldest, and his wife, Carrie, and their two children, Brooke and Korden, live in Easton, Penn. His youngest, a daughter, Kathleen Ann Gordon and her daugher, Catharine, live in Mesa, Arizona.
A viewing will be held on Friday, August 22, 6-8 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Gardens, 10600 South 1700 East, Sandy. Funeral services are Saturday, 1 p.m., at the Willow Creek Stake Center, 2350 East Creek Road, Sandy, with a viewing one hour prior to services. Interment at Larkin Sunset Gardens. In lieu of flowers, contributions should be sent to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, 525 So. 300 West, Salt Lake City.
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