Dr. Edward J. Johnson

Dr. Edward J. Johnson

Green Bay - Dr. Edward J. Johnson passed away at his home on March 25, 2018, at the age of 72. He chose to spend his final days resting at his home of forty years and surrounded by the love, laughter and tears of his wife, children and grandchildren. His last moments were in the embrace of his wife and children.

Ed served the Northeast Wisconsin community for forty years as a psychiatrist. He sought to provide his services in ways that could help the most people and those most in need, including by serving many area rural communities through public hospitals and operating his own outpatient practice alongside his office manager and wife, Mary Ellen Johnson (Collins).

Ed developed a passion for big water during his childhood years spent in the Seattle, WA area, being one end of the line for the Great Northern Railway for which his father was a lifelong employee, and spent a significant portion of his youth at the other end of the line in the Twin Cities. That love of being on large bodies of water drove him to move his family to Alaska for two years in the 1970s, to spend family summertime in Ellison Bay on his sailboat, and to take his fishing boat on countless salmon fishing trips on Lake Michigan with friends and family. Ed was also passionate about photography and enjoyed capturing images of wildlife and his children's sporting events.

He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Mary Ellen Johnson; his daughter Kirsten Marquardt, her husband Pete and three children Collin (12), Hailey (9) and Jackson (3); his son Erik Johnson, his wife Jen and three children Luca (6), Ava (4) and Deacon (1); and his son Craig Johnson, his wife Katie and three children William (6), Emma (3) and Eloise (1) along with another daughter expected to arrive soon. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Kathy Smith and her husband Norm; sister-in-law Joan Johnson; nephews Tom Johnson and Greg Johnson; and nieces Katie Johnson and Jenny Lambe. He was preceded in death by his brother, Jerry.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2018 with visitation from 3:30 to 6:00 PM and a short service following at 6:00 PM at Pfotenhauer Funeral Home & Cremation Service, East-Town location, 2379 E. Mason Street, Green Bay, WI 54302. Online condolences welcome at www.PfotenhauerFuneralHome.com

In lieu of flowers his family requests donations be made to the Jackie Nitschke Center (www.jackienitschkecenter.com) or Libertas (www.libertastreatment.org).

His family wishes to thank the staff at Aurora Bay Care for their kindness and compassion over many years. One of Ed's famous sayings was "things can be replaced; people can't." That is so true and he will be deeply missed.