John H. Johnson

John’s service will be viewable on this page

John H. Jonson passed away in the early morning hours on Monday July 24, 2023 at the age of 94, surrounded by his family.

John to many, Jack to some, was born March 26, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan to Emil and Amy Johnson (Johnson). The family moved to a farmstead near Crookston, MN, shortly after his arrival. John became the oldest brother of 8 siblings. He graduated from Alsen high school and worked on his uncle Art’s farm for several years after high school. He remembered a terrible snowfall in July one summer at the farm. He was drafted into the Korean war and served in the Armed Division of the Army while stationed in Germany. Before he left for the war, John met the love of his life, Jeanette Schipper and upon return from the war John courted Jeanie and they were married September 10, 1955. They were kindred spirits. They loved to go dancing and it was rumored they won a few dance contests. John and Jeanie went for hayrides and loved to party with friends and family.

The happy couple moved to an apartment in Fargo, ND. They always had an open door to family. They had many friends and made friends with the couple across the street and eventually bought their house from them. John lived in that house until his recent passing. John worked for a short stint at Twin Valley Plastering and in the early 1960’s he spent four years of employment with Sig Olsen Plastering. In 1964, he started working for G & M Lathing and Contractors and worked for his friends Chuck and Merle when they opened their own business. He was employed at G & M for 59 years. John was the father of 2 children, his oldest son Jon, followed in his fathers’ footsteps as a construction foreman, and the younger sister, Janna, who did not like carrying sheetrock. John was a level-headed man, quick with a joke, a history lesson, reel off local doings and news and often checked up on others knowledge with many phone calls or an impromptu conversation at the check-out line in Menard’s. John got “The Treatment” in 1987 and remained sober until his death, with exception to a shot of Black Berry Brandy once a year or two. (He swore it cured the common cold.)

John Johnson was known as Poppa to his grandchildren and all their friends. He attended sports games, ballet recitals and hauled kids all over the FM area. (He referred to Moorhead as Fargo’s East side). Poppa would have the kids add license plate numbers or count how many out of states plates they saw and was known to hit 5 to 10 places before 10am on Saturday morning errand day. He also reported he once had 11 kids in the cab of his pick-up on a crazy drive home from Skateland, ensuring each child was dropped where they were supposed to be.

Our father was a dedicated son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend, uncle, cousin, nephew, and employee. He taught those around him what ‘work ethic’ means, how to be objective, how to be cool-headed, wise, and easy-going. He decided to stop driving this past winter, he spoke with his children about his funeral arrangements, and while home with hospice care, when asked, “Where were you 20 years ago today?” He knew what jobs he was working, what went well, went did not go well, scaffolding on stairs and who was the foreman was, who was difficult to work with.

John H. Johnson was a pillar of the Fargo-Moorhead community. His hands helped build the office you may be sitting in, the hospital you might be getting care in, the stores you shop in, the schools our children attend, the churches you attend, and the nursing homes you might live in. He will be greatly missed by all those that knew him and the now missed, patiently waiting customers at Menard’s on Saturday mornings.

John is preceded in death by his mother & father; his wife; and 5 brothers and 2 sisters. John is survived by his sister, Cheryl (Joe) Bennett; sister-in-law, Betty Johnson; son, Jon (Terry); daughter, Janna; grandchildren, Randy (Lydia), Jamie (Aaron), Justin (Ciarra), and Casey, Prairie, Kilee (Andy) and Autumn; and great grandchildren, Damien, Shia, Lake, Felix, Audree, Kayson, Andrew, Kaleb, and Noah.