Rudolph Johnson

Rudolph Johnson of Duluth died Friday, Jan. 14, from complications associated with Alzheimer's disease. Rudy was of Sami (Lapp) ancestry and was born in 1916 in Kirkenes, Norway. He emigrated with his parents to the U.S. in 1917 and attended Fairmont grade school in West Duluth and high school in Madelia and later in Barnum, Minn. He obtained a BA from Hamline University, St Paul in 1937. After serving in India during World War II Rudolph attended graduate school at Columbia University. He then worked for seven years as Acquisition Librarian on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. He met his wife, artist Solveig Arneng, while in Oslo and they married in Norway in 1949. In 1958 he moved to Duluth and worked as Library Director at UMD until retirement. A lifelong advocate for peace and justice, Rudolph was investigated for his radical politics during the McCarthy Era. He was an active member of the NAACP and the ACLU and was deeply committed to protesting the Vietnam War. He is survived by his wife, Solveig; children, Iva, Kai, and Arden; and grandchildren Ivar, Lila, Robin, and Hannah. Rudy never owned an automobile and liked to take nature walks along the north shore of Lake Superior. He thought of himself as a Unitarian. MEMORIAL SERVICE:11 a.m. Jan. 24, in the First Unitarian Church of Duluth, 145 Winona. Donations can be made in memory of Rudy to the UMD library for use in establishing a Sami collection.