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Salem (formerly Crooks)
January 18, 2021
John Orville Johnson was born on April 5, 1926, in Mount Vernon to William and Anna (Soma) Johnson. He was raised on a farm near Letcher and attended and graduated from Letcher High School. John then joined the war effort and entered into the United States Army in 1944. John was serving with the 22 Infantry Company L. in Germany when he was wounded in battle.
Following his honorable discharge in 1945, John returned to South Dakota and attended college in Huron. He then began working with civil services in Huron until 1952 when he moved to Seattle, Wash., to work with Boeing for a few years, then back to working in civil services with the Department of the Interior in Minneapolis, Minn., and the Veterans Administration. John then spent six years working in civil services for the Air Force in Omaha, Neb. Following Omaha, John moved to California where he worked within the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior at Folsom Dam, retiring in 1981. John purchased a home in Crooks in 2001. He had been a resident at Avantara in Salem since 2015.
John enjoyed camping and traveling.
John was preceded in death by his parents, William and Anna Johnson; two sisters, Marie (Art) Larimer and Vivian (Clarence) Hoeltzner; three brothers, Floyd (Luetta) Johnson, Kenneth (Gail) Johnson and William (Wanda) Johnson. He is survived by many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 23, beginning at 10 a.m. at Will Funeral Chapel in Mitchell with burial to follow at the Mount Vernon Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Will Funeral Chapel in Mitchell.
Arrangements provided by George Boom Funeral Home.