Kenneth Johnson

Kenneth DeWayne Johnson, 75, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, passed away Friday afternoon, March 7, 2025, at OSU Medical Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma. He died from illnesses brought on by his exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam conflict.

Ken was born January 2, 1950, at Orange, Texas to Billy Johnson and Edna (Chapman) Johnson. He grew up in southeast Texas in the Houston/Beaumont area. Ken graduated from Houston’s Sidney Lanier High School in 1967. He taught himself to play bass guitar at an early age and became part of the Houston music scene, playing with such bands as the Moving Sidewalks. After high school graduation, Ken enlisted into the U.S. Army. He quickly attained the rank of Sargent and made over 90 combat jumps in Vietnam as a member of the 101st Airborne Division. His expertise as a soldier and leader led him to become a skilled sniper and earned the position as a L.R.R.P. Ken fought for his country in Vietnam from 1967 to 1971. He left the military in 1974, after spending a few years in the United States Navy. Ken worked as a fireman in Houston Texas and then in the late 1970's he moved to Bartlesville. He married Renee Pendergraft and they had their first born Jeffrey in 1978.

In the following years they would go on to have three more children, Joshua, Rachel and John. They divorced in 1998. He loved his job as a ranch hand at Woolaroc and worked many years as a custodian for Bartlesville Public Schools. In his spare-time he loved spending time with his children, playing bass guitar and going to see live music.

Ken is survived by four sons, Jeffrey Johnson, Joshua Johnson and his wife, Diem, John Johnson and Matthew Johnson; two daughters, Rachel Gustke and her husband, Kyle and Ratu, and by three grandsons, Connor and Corbin Johnson and Jay Gustke. He is preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be 1pm, Saturday, March 15, in the Arnold Moore & Neekamp Chapel with Lorie Barnes, officiating. Ken will be cremated following the service and arrangements have been entrusted to Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home of Bartlesville. Military rites will be accorded Mr. Johnson by the Fort Sill Honor Guard. Visitation will be held Friday, March 14 at the funeral home from 9am-8pm, with family receiving guests from 5-7pm. Charitable donations may be made in memory of Kenneth Johnson to St. Jude’s’s Children’s Medical Center. To send an online condolence, visit www.honoringmemoriesbartlesville.com.