Donald Neal Johnson

1959 - 2019

Surrounded by love, Don peacefully passed away on March 2, 2019.

Don was born on August 10, 1959 in Port Arthur, Ontario. After a well-respected 35 year career with the MTO, he happily retired at the young age of 52. Don loved retirement and nothing was more important to him than spending time with his family. He was a dedicated husband to his wife Vivian, the love of his life. He was the very best father to his kids whom he was so proud of and was the first person to celebrate any accomplishment. He was a loving son, brother, everyone's favourite uncle, and a genuinely beautiful soul.

Don grew up loving the outdoors, something that never changed. He could always be found at camp at either Shebandowan or Dog Lake with his family, his friends, and his dogs all loaded in the truck. He loved being out in the boat, beach combing with the family, and was always on the lookout for rocks to take home to the pond or for wood to carve a mask or a walking stick. When Don wasn't at camp, he was in the backyard building something, gardening, cleaning the pool nobody ever swam in even though we said we would, or being the life of the party at every celebration (and there were many). He always enjoyed life and doing anything that didn't require him to wear a shirt.

Don loved to BBQ and perfected the three-day adventure of smoking ribs. He had nick names for everyone and many catch-phrases, including “hold on to your underwear” and “home again, home again, jiggity jaw”. He was a fine whiskey connoisseur who enjoyed fishing, hunting, good food, and good old blues music. He was always up for sharing a drink with his lifelong friends. Dad could fix anything with anything, and the closest thing to no he would ever say is “go ask your mother”.

Don is survived by his wife Vivian, children Brea (O'Neill), Braydon, and Brennan; beloved dog Tytan, grand-dogs Aspen and Simon; mother Sonja, aunt Anja, sisters Kathy (Paul) and Liz. He is also survived by in-laws Anne, Linda (Jim), Brian (Lorie); and nieces Amanda (Simo, Tamiyah, Leilah), Melissa (Rowyn, Easton), and Sarah (Ryan, Ryder, Laikynn). He was predeceased by his two sons Cody and Neal in infancy, his father Donald, his grandparents, in-laws, and other relatives.

We hope the whiskey tastes better in the sky.

Family and friends are welcome to a drop-in celebration of life at Daytona's Restaurant, 965A Cobalt Crescent, on Sunday, March 10, 2019 between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Vascular Unit or ICU at the TBRHSC or to Northern Critters in Need.