Michael William Johnson

On October 21st, 1945, an amazing child entered our world. Michael William Johnson was born in St. Mary's hospital in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, to loving parents, Arnold Woodrow "Woody" and Charlene Mildred Johnson.
As a child he grew up on a farm at Rock Lake, an area he would always remember with fondness. As a farm boy he was working nearly from the age he could walk, and this hard work would prove to be a foundation for how he would live his life. Life on the farm was rustic, as they had only an outhouse for a restroom and needed to pump water by hand into the kitchen sink.
Mike attended a one-room school, grades first through sixth, and the boys outnumbered the girls by such a large margin that Mike often had to play a girl part in school productions, wearing a dress and bonnet his mother made from a flour sack. Around the age of ten, the family moved from the farm into the town of Detroit Lakes. After years of waking up at dawn to feed the chickens and tend to the cows Mike would be up and out at 5 am, excited to meet the neighbor kids and couldn't understand why they were still sleeping.
When Mike was in high school his cousin Charlie convinced him (rather easily) to skip school and go with him to Fargo so Charlie could sign up for the Marine Corps. Mike was just along for the ride but ended up coming home registered for the Marines. With the blessing of his father he became a United States Marine at the age of 17. Despite being legally blind without glasses due to oxygen treatment as a child, Mike was an expert marksman while in the Marines and beyond. He was very intelligent and his test scores at the Marines proved it. After boot camp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, CA, he became a radar technician, setting up radar towers in remote locations.
While in high school, Mike met Judy McAnnany through his friend, Mike Kraft. One date with Judy was all it took, and eventually Judy McAnnany became Judy Johnson. Mike and Judy would eventually have four kids together. The first child, Troy "The Reason" Johnson was born in Detroit Lakes in 1967. At that time Mike was working at an aerospace lab in Minneapolis where he tested and developed equipment that would land on the moon. He worked long hours at the lab but would still find time to prank and joke with his colleagues.
In 1970 Mike and Judy welcomed their second child, Michelle Lee Johnson, to the family and the following year would move to St. Helens, Oregon, where Mike eventually landed a job at Boyd Coffee Company but the family wasn't complete. In 1978 they added Mike's namesake, Michael Bennett and in 1983 completed the family with Kimberly Marion.
While at Boyd's, Mike worked his way up from an entry-level position at the factory shop to one of the most prolific employees the company would know, eventually creating a division of the company known as Techni-Brew International. Through his work at Boyd's he developed several pieces of equipment, from coffee brewers to espresso carts. The most notable being the Airpot Brewer, which is still used globally today. Mike worked at Boyd's for nearly 40 years, eventually retiring in 2010.
Mike's retired life was full of action, as he spent countless hours with his grandkids, facilitated very special hunting trips with his sons and grandsons, and was always the first to help family or friends in need. He became a self-taught master woodworker and created many precious heirlooms. His strong work ethic stayed with him his entire life, and many who know him can point to something in their home that he built, fixed, or moved for them.
Mike passed peacefully on Labor Day, a fitting day for a man who worked hard his entire life and exactly two years to the day of the passing of his mother. He will receive a military internment at Willamette National Cemetery for his service in the United States Marine Corps.
Mike is survived by his wife Judy Gail Johnson, sister Marica (Jarl) Olson, brother David (Debbie) Johnson, brother Donald (Anne) Johnson, son Troy (Cheryl) Johnson, daughter Michelle Brooks, son Michael Johnson, daughter Kimberly (Kaileb) Hahmeyer, grandson Jordan (Kendall) Johnson, granddaughter Sabrina Navarro, grandson Ryan Navarro, granddaughter Aliya Brooks, grandson Jack Johnson, grandson Trevin Hahmeyer, grandson Justice Brooks, and grandson Tanner Hahmeyer.
Memorial Service: Saturday, September 28th at 1 pm at First Lutheran Church.
Address: 360 Wyeth St., St. Helens, OR 97051
A Celebration of Life following at the St. Helens Elk Lodge.
350 Belton Rd