Edgar Johnson's Obituary
Edgar Rudolph Johnson, son of Edwin Rudolph and Edith Linnea Carlson Johnson, was born January 24, 1928, in Scotia, California. He departed this life Thursday, December 7, 2006, in the Christian Health Care North, in Lebanon, Missouri, at the age of seventy-eight years, ten months, and thirteen days. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his brother, Floyd. On September 7, 1970, he was united in marriage to Anna Lou Parks. She had two children, John and Donna, and they raised Heather, their granddaughter. They also welcomed Sherri, as their daughter, into their family. Ed was previously married to Edna Potter-Johnson. They had six children; four girls, Joyce, Kathy, Linnea and Becky; and two boys, Floyd and Edwin. Ed is survived by his wife, Anna; his children; eighteen grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren; two sisters, Millie and Marilyn; several nieces and nephews; as well as a host of other relatives and many friends. Ed was born in Scotia, California. As a child, his parents worked in the lumber yards cutting down trees. As they finished cutting trees, they would move to the next camp. Ed’s family and their friends spoke only Swedish. When he started school at the age of five, he was first taught English. When he was seventeen, while he was attending McClatchy High School, his brother, Floyd, who was serving in the Merchant Marines, invited him to see the ship he was sailing on. After meeting up with his brother, Ed decided to quit school and join the Merchant Marines. He sailed for three years before being drafted into the Army when he was twenty-one. There he became a radio operator and served for two years. Once his tour in the Army was over, Ed, his wife, Edna, and their son, Floyd, moved to Alaska, where he started working for the Alaska Railroad. During his time in Alaska, he joined the V.F.W. and was a Sunday school teacher. While loading a rail car, he was severely injured, and had to go on disability. He then was sent to Seattle, Washington for further treatment. He never returned to Alaska. He started working for McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, California, where he worked for twenty-eight years. Ed had several hobbies including photography, and developed his own pictures. He built a train room, which started out to be four feet by six feet, and eight years later, had grown to eight feet by twelve feet. He collected rocks, which he would polish, and then bought the equipment to cut the rocks into flat slabs. He would cut the rocks to make necklaces, belt buckles, and string ties. He collected clocks, and any time he found a pretty dish or piece of wood, he would make a clock out of it. At one time, Heather counted over 168 clocks. He also collected cameras and had over 400 different kinds of cameras. In 1987, Ed and Anna joined a dance club, and learned many different country dances. In 2004, as Ed’s health was declining, they were no longer able to dance, but they still went to the dances and visited and talked with friends. Ed was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and uncle and was a caring neighbor and friend. We celebrate his life and will treasure the memories he made for his family and friends. It’s not goodbye … just so long. Services are incomplete and under the direction of Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Lebanon, Missouri.
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