Donald "Mike" Johnson

Donald Michael "Mike" Johnson passed away peacefully at home on December 10, 2025, after a two-year battle with esophageal cancer. Mike was born at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital in New York City on February 14th, 1952, to LTC Harold W. "Bill" and Nancy Johnson. After his dad finished Infantry Officer Basic at FT Benning, GA, the family moved to FT Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, IN until his dad was reassigned to the 26th Infantry Regiment in Bamberg, Germany. Mike and his mom took the U.S.S. America to Germany once quarters became available. Mike's brother, Mark, was born at the Army's 16th Field Hospital in Nuernberg in the summer of 1954 and the family returned to the US in early 1955. His dad left active duty at that point but retained his Reserve commission and the family moved out to New York's Long Island, where Mike spent his early childhood years. In 1964 the family moved to Douglaston, Queens in New York City where Mike became an Eagle Scout and began swimming competitively. He entered Fordham Preparatory School in The Bronx during the summer of 1966 and graduated from there in 1970 as the Captain of the Swim Team, Senior Class President, editor of the Yearbook and having gained an appointment to attend West Point from his Congressman, the Honorable Seymour Halpern.

Mike's father inspired him and the Prep's Jesuit faculty reinforced values of becoming "a man for others" and so by his sophomore year, at the height of the Vietnam War, when anti-war protests and riots were exploding across the country, Mike knew, without a doubt that he wanted to go to West Point and become an Army Officer. Although he struggled mightily with the math and engineering aspects of the Academy's Engineering curriculum at the time, Mike never gave up, nor lost his happy nature and infectious smile. He made life-long friends among his classmates and company mates and enjoyed their camaraderie for the rest of his life. He reveled in the fact that he met his soulmate in the fall of 1973 at West Point. Dianne attended Ladycliff College in Highland Falls and quickly captured his heart; they married in February 1975.

Mike and Dianne spent their next four years at FT Knox, KY. Mike went through Armor Officer training courses there and served as Company XO and a Tank Company Commander. He often remarked that the highlight of his FT Knox assignment was the births of his children Brian (1977) and Katie (1979). His marriage and his children provided him with the critical balance between family and work. In 1979, he was reassigned to the 3-7 Armored Cavalry Squadron in Schweinfurt Germany serving as a Troop Commander before being selected as the Aide de Camp to the 3rd Infantry Division Commander, MG Fred K. Mahaffey. Following that, he spent a year on the Operations and Planning Staff at US Army Europe Headquarters in Heidelberg. The Naval Post Graduate School and Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California were his next assignments enroute to becoming an African Foreign Area Officer. After spending six months in Somalia in 1984, he returned to his family at FT Bragg, NC and worked Special Operations focusing on East Africa until 1987. A year at the Army's Command and General Staff College at FT Leavenworth in 1988, was followed by another assignment to Germany. Assigned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Nuernberg, he served as a Squadron S-3, Squadron XO and Regimental S-3 seeing the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany and the end of the Cold War. Leaving Germany in the spring of 1991 he was assigned to the Pentagon, working at first for the Army's Inspector General, but was selected to work on the Secretary of Defense's Policy Staff as a defense policy analyst during the political collapse and humanitarian crisis in Somalia (1992-1993). He retired from the Army in 1994 after twenty years of active-duty service but kept the same job on the Secretary's staff until the fall of 1995 where for the next 5 years he conducted Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty negotiations for DoD. While helping to define DoD's counter Drug policy on September 11, 2001, his office was 120 feet from where the hijacked Airliner crashed into the Pentagon; he fortunately evacuated his staff from the building without a single loss of life. During Mike's last three years with DoD, he directed a policy staff overseeing the Department's interests in international trade policy, which included the drafting of economic sanctions against Iraq and garnering support for US efforts at the UN and national capitals in the lead up to the 2nd Gulf War.

In 2005, he left DoD to become the Director of Policy for the Department of Homeland Security's (OHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, which was chartered to stop nuclear weapons and illicit nuclear material from entering the US. However, within two years, he was reassigned to the Secretary's Policy staff and retired in September 2015 as the Principal Director for Risk Analysis and Forecasts, helping to formulate OHS budgets to have the people, equipment and procedures on hand to ward off emerging threats. He and his wife moved to Ohio after retirement to be closer to family living near Cleveland and Chicago.

After retiring Mike enjoyed traveling and the ability to relax a bit while becoming a full-time grandpa to his three grandsons Cullin, Griffin and Briggs and his one and only granddaughter Josephine. He relished being the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer of Grandpa Support Services, often referring to it as the best job he ever had.

He is survived by his beloved wife Dianne (nee Henrich) of 50 years; loving children Brian (Toby Eveland) and Katie (Blake) Beachler; cherished grandchildren Cullin, Griffin and Briggs Beachler and Josephine Eveland; dear brother Mark (Mary Ellen) Johnson and Sister in-law Barbara Cipriano.

He is preceded in death by his parents LTC. Harold "Bill" and Nancy Johnson.

The family will receive friends on Monday, December 15, 2025, from 6:00pm - 8:00pm with a eulogy at 7:30pm at Busch Funeral Home 163 Avon Belden Rd., Avon Lake, OH., 44012. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at 10am at Holy Spirit Parish 410 Lear Rd., Avon Lake, OH., 44012. Inurnment will take place at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery, where Mike will be laid to rest with Military Honor's. www.buschcares.com 440.933.3202