Richard "Papa Dick" JOHNSON

1928 - 2021

Richard E. Johnson (Dick) 93 of Spokane passed away in his home on October 11th, 2021. Richard was born on July 16, 1928, in Spokane, WA to Walter and Blanche Johnson. He is survived by his four children, Jody Sams (Mark), Lynn Olson (Kevin), Karen McIntyre (Larry), and David Johnson; his eight grandchildren, Eija, Andrea, Sara, Audrey, Ryan, Erik, Robin, and AJ; 12 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-granddaughter.

Richard graduated from Lewis & Clark High School in 1946. During High School, Richard worked after school at Hat Freeman in downtown Spokane. After graduating high school, he joined the Army and served 18 months in Japan, where he stood an inspection under General of the Army Douglas MacArthur military Governor of Japan in 1946. Then upon returning from his service, he attended Eastern Washington University. He held other various jobs at the Union Pacific Railroad, Kaiser Aluminum, Trentwood, then settled into a long career with Pacific Gas Transmission, where he made many lifelong friends.

His favorite times were the years spent at his cabin on Coeur d'Alene Lake, enjoying the lake life with his children, grandchildren, and his close-knit lake family. Dick was an enthusiastic sports fan following all the local sports teams and spent time staying up to date on current world affairs.

Richard's funeral service and celebration of life will be held on Thursday October 21st at 11 AM at Heritage Funeral Home, 508 N. Government Way, Spokane. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hospice of Spokane.