Mack Stuart Johnsen

Mack Stuart Johnsen, 75

Mack Stuart Johnsen passed away unexpectedly on July 25, 2023, following surgery. He was 75 years old and had been living with his wife of nearly 47 years, Tamra Busch-Johnsen, in Wilsonville, Oregon.

Mack was born in Tacoma, Washington, on May 11, 1948, to Marjorie and Palmer Johnsen. Because he suffered from asthma each spring, his parents moved Mack and his older sister, Judy, to a drier climate in Spokane, Washington (1950), and then to Kalispell (1952). While in Kalispell, Mack attended Hedges Elementary and Central Junior High before moving to Washington state prior to the eighth grade. Mack missed his friends in Kalispell, some of whom have remained good friends until his death. He would visit Kalispell periodically including having attended FCHS 1967 Class Reunions as that was a time to collectively meet grade school friends.

Mack attended Portland State College (later renamed Portland State University) and earned a Doctor of Dental Medicine in 1974 from the University of Oregon Dental School, (later named Oregon Health and Science University). Mack's first dental job was with a Portland oral surgeon, where he met his wife, Tamra. She was referred by friends who knew Mack worked for an oral surgeon. Mack did a follow-up home visit to Tamra after her wisdom teeth removal. They were married a year later.

Mack was always more than a dentist. He believed in creating a practice where people were part of his life. As a result, many of his patients became his good friends. He helped those patients who were experiencing tough times by trading dental work for a variety of payment types: chicken/beef meat, eggs, car or driveway repairs, hay, etc. His bookkeeper joked that she'd need to get a corral outside the dental office for payments.

Mack and Tamra loved horses, dogs, and antiques. They gave each other a horse as their wedding presents. A friend tipped them off about a historic 1860s farmhouse and acreage outside of Wilsonville which became the perfect setting for raising their two sons, Brandon and Travis, plus the animals that became part of the family.

Mack was preceded in death by his parents, Marjorie and Palmer Johnsen.

He is survived by wife, Tamra; sons, Brandon (Kara) and Travis; his sister, Judy; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Mack suffered from a rare muscle disease in his later years, Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM). Because Mack always wanted to help others, his family suggests donations to the Peter Frampton Myositis Research Fund at the John Hopkins Myositis Center. Information about donating can be found at www.secure.jhu.edu/form/Frampton.

There is an open invitation to Mack's celebration of life service on Sunday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. at Community of Hope Church, 27817 SW Stafford Road, Wilsonville, Oregon.

Friends and family are invited to leave notes of condolence at www.cornwellcolonial.com/obituaries/Mack-Johnsen/#!/Obituary