Dr. Earl S. Johnson

1941 - 2022

Dr. Earl S. Johnson
Dr. Earl Sidney Johnson of Mill Valley, California died on Monday, February 28th at age 81 as a result of injuries sustained in a bicycle accident. A devoted husband, father and grandfather, Earl is survived by his wife of 47 years Gay, children Kelly, Ross and Brooke, and grandson Henry Grove. Earl is also survived by his sister Marilyn Minshall and was predeceased by his sister Ardis Hood.
Earl was born in Scotia, California to parents Agnes Bateman and John Sidney Johnson, descendants of Oregon pioneers. The family moved to Santa Rosa when he was six. Throughout his childhood, he was active in the Boy Scouts, eventually becoming an Eagle Scout. After graduating from Santa Rosa High School, he attended Johns Hopkins University for his freshman year. He transferred to the University of California at Berkeley where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Earl went on to dental school at UCSF where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree with a specialty in Orthodontics. After participating in the Navy Reserve, Earl served as an orthodontist in the Air Force posted in France and Germany and traveled extensively throughout Europe.
Earl returned to the Bay Area to start his private orthodontic practice in Mill Valley and Tiburon. In 1975, he married Gay Rawlins. Together, they raised three children and became active members of their Southern Marin community. Earl was a lifelong volunteer, most notably with Rotary International and their local chapters, the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, and countless youth soccer and little league teams. More recently, Earl tutored math in local schools and volunteered for the Matthew Turner Tall Ship, Marin Villages, and Mill Valley's Steps, Lanes & Paths. He was also a regular blood donor.
Earl was athletic to the end, enjoying tennis, racquetball, bocce ball, cycling and hiking. His two passions, however, were skiing and sailing. He skied with the Squaw Valley Volunteer Ski Patrol in younger days and was a member of the San Francisco Yacht Club for over 50 years.
Earl enjoyed exceptional success in his work in orthodontics. A respected and beloved leader, he balanced work at his private practices with his role as Clinical Professor of Orthodontics at UCSF. He was a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists, the California Association of Orthodontists and the Marin County Dental Society. A lifelong student and teacher, Earl generously shared his curiosity and expertise with thousands of students and fellow professionals through lectures, dental journal publications, and his regular column "Earl's Pearls" in the PCSO Bulletin.
Over the years, Earl gathered a multitude of friends and admirers. Bright, humble, hard-working, and quick-witted, you could always count on Earl to offer an opinion, a helping hand or a zinger of a joke.
His family welcomes you to a celebration of life at the San Francisco Yacht Club on Friday, April 8th from 2-5pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider giving blood or making a donation in Earl's memory to Rotary International at https://www.rotary.org/en/donate or to the American Association of Orthodontics Foundation supporting UCSF resident education at https://aaof.aaoinfo.org/select-pledge.