He attended a country school near Schaller, IA. When the family moved, he attended another country school near Odebolt, IA. There were only two boys in this class. He finished his elementary schooling in Dickens, IA after another family move. A grade school friend remarked that there were two boys named Dennis Johnson in his class, so he was called Dennis Harold. He graduated from Spencer High School in Spencer, IA in 1959; he was active in FFA. He attended Estherville Junior College (now known as Iowa Lakes Community College) for the following two years. Later in 1964, he received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Iowa State University, in Ames, IA.
Dennis and Julie Tordoff were married on May 27, 1962 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, IA. They had 62 years of happiness as a married couple. Their best man remarked that once Dennis met Julie, Dennis spent all his time with her; and the friends who hung out with him before really missed him. For their 60th anniversary, Dennis and Julie took a “nostalgia trip” to the place they were married, where they honeymooned, and other places in Iowa. They ended their journey visiting Julie’s family and their good college friends, Larry and Barb Winters.
They were blessed with two children, Darren who was born in Spencer, IA when Dennis was finishing his degree and Darla who was born in Fargo, ND. They remarked that Dennis was the greatest dad ever and would do anything for his kids and grandkids. He was the best babysitter and friend a grandchild could ask for.
After college graduation they moved to Fargo, ND where Dennis was hired as agricultural statistician by the Statistical Reporting Service (SRS), in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Dennis’s first duty office was in Fargo, ND, where the family lived from 1964 -1971. Dennis was a hard worker and was focused on supporting his family. After hours, he worked for our landlord who also owned several farms near Fargo. Dennis would go to the farm and drive the tractor from about 6 pm to midnight and earn enough to pay our rent. It was there that Julie earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees without a student loan because Dennis paid for her tuition.
In 1972 Dennis was transferred to the Washington, D.C. office. The family found a home in Vienna, VA, a suburb of D.C. He didn’t like his commute there, riding the bus and subway to work; he left home in the dark and came home in the dark, but the family loved to visit the Smithsonian museums and other scenic or historical places. The time they lived there was during Watergate, so the political landscape and news about the burglary were interesting and he felt like he and his family were in an exciting place.
In 1977 Dennis was transferred to the Lincoln office. We promised Darren we would purchase a boat when we moved to Lincoln. That began a love of boating, first, in lakes surrounding Lincoln, and in 1999 we purchased our first time share condo at Lake Okoboji in northern Iowa. That started the tradition of spending 4 weeks a year at the condos. The entire family has been there every summer since that time and many happy memories have been made. Dennis taught Darren, Darla, Scott, Holden, and Julie to drive the boat. On the day he taught Julie, she tried to dock the boat but ran it right into the back of the SUV. She and Dennis decided it would be the last time driving for her.
In 1984 while in Lincoln, Julie finished her doctorate at UNL. Once again, Dennis paid for her tuition. Dennis retired in 1999 after 35 years of service at the age of 58. He did a lot of carpentry work for Darren and Darla and other odd jobs. In addition, he provided childcare and chauffeuring his grandchildren to music lessons, school and other places.
Survivors include his wife Julie, son Darren (Sue) Johnson and Darla (Scott) Sutter, both from Lincoln, NE; grandchildren Holden Sutter, Sioux Falls, SD; Xander Sutter, Logan Sutter, Alex Johnson, all from Lincoln, NE; sister Carol Ann (Robert) Leslie, Longmont, CO; sister-in-law Jean Kruse, Cedar Rapids, IA; brother-in law Henry (Lillian) Tordoff, Sioux City, IA; nieces Laurel Leslie Martin, Longmont, CO; Lisa (Ric Kennedy) Solinger, Altoona, IA; Sheryl Kruse, Cedar Rapids, IA; Marcia Mack, Wheat Ridge, CO; Lois (Randy) Stodola, Cedar Rapids, IA; Marilyn (Kevin) West, Sioux City, IA; nephews Lynton (Rae) Leslie, Mesa AZ; Lance (Bonnie) Leslie, Mesa, AZ; Lyle (Jeri Duke) Leslie, Mesa AZ; Brian (Patty) Kruse, Robins, IA; Bill Tordoff, Sioux City, IA; many great nieces and nephews, and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents, parents-in law, and grandparents.
Dennis’s Celebration of Life service will be at 11 a.m., Monday, February 19th at Sheridan Lutheran Church, 6955 Old Cheney Road, Lincoln, NE, followed by lunch at noon.
Donations can be made in his name to the (1) Sheridan Lutheran Church Readiness fund for a dedicated community outreach building to serve the community’s needs, or the (2) Julie M. and Dennis H. Johnson Fund for the Child, Youth and Family Studies Department (University of Nebraska Foundation Fund #01126530).