1924
Warren
2015
Warren Straub Johnson
November 29, 1924 — June 27, 2015
Warren Straub Johnson, 90, of Fergus Falls, died Saturday, June 27, 2015, at his home after an extended illness.
Warren was born on Nov. 29, 1924, in Fergus Falls to William and Margaret Johnson. He graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1943, and entered the Army Air Corps that same year. While in the Army, he took courses at Oklahoma A&M University, and then served as a radio operator on a B24 Liberator bomber in Italy during World War II.
After he left the service, he attended Moorhead State College for a year, then returned to Fergus Falls to work with his father in the family business, Johnson Furniture. On Aug. 3, 1947, he married Lorna J. Fairbanks in Fergus Falls. He eventually bought out and operated the furniture business until retiring in the early 1970s.
Warren pursued numerous, eclectic interests with great enthusiasm. He loved flying and earned a private pilot's license shortly after the war, flying his own airplane on wheels, floats and skis. He enjoyed fly-in breakfasts, flying into various lakes to fish, and flying to Pleasure Island, a fishing retreat in Canada he shared with several of his friends.
He loved nature and the outdoors, and at various times in his life avidly pursued beekeeping, raising sheep and using their wool for yarn, tapping maple trees and making his own syrup, putting up hay for his farm animals, collecting rocks and salvaging used timber for construction, harvesting wild foods, gardening, and heating his home with firewood he cut and split. He was especially fond of the aesthetics and practical use of wood of different types, and he and a friend operated their own sawmill for several years.
Warren was a hunter and conservationist. He was a sort of Johnny Appleseed, planting and transplanting hundreds of trees on his property at Swan Lake. And he loved travel to Alaska and wintering in Arizona. He was a member of the Elks, VFW, American Legion and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Surviving are his wife, Lorna; four daughters, Lynn (Robert) Drechsel, of Madison, Wis., Sandra (Kim) Davis of Alexandria, Jackie (Steve Blacker) Johnson, of Boulder, Colo., and Geri Johnson, of Fergus Falls; five grandchildren, Megan (Neil Tomson) Drechsel, of Philadelphia, Penn., Sarah Drechsel, of St. Paul, Hannah Blacker and Ben Blacker, both of Boulder, Colo., and Sam Thieme, of Chadron, Neb.
The family will hold a private ceremony. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Olson Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.
Memorials may be directed to Lakeland Hospice or to any charity of the donor's choosing.
Warren was born on Nov. 29, 1924, in Fergus Falls to William and Margaret Johnson. He graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 1943, and entered the Army Air Corps that same year. While in the Army, he took courses at Oklahoma A&M University, and then served as a radio operator on a B24 Liberator bomber in Italy during World War II.
After he left the service, he attended Moorhead State College for a year, then returned to Fergus Falls to work with his father in the family business, Johnson Furniture. On Aug. 3, 1947, he married Lorna J. Fairbanks in Fergus Falls. He eventually bought out and operated the furniture business until retiring in the early 1970s.
Warren pursued numerous, eclectic interests with great enthusiasm. He loved flying and earned a private pilot's license shortly after the war, flying his own airplane on wheels, floats and skis. He enjoyed fly-in breakfasts, flying into various lakes to fish, and flying to Pleasure Island, a fishing retreat in Canada he shared with several of his friends.
He loved nature and the outdoors, and at various times in his life avidly pursued beekeeping, raising sheep and using their wool for yarn, tapping maple trees and making his own syrup, putting up hay for his farm animals, collecting rocks and salvaging used timber for construction, harvesting wild foods, gardening, and heating his home with firewood he cut and split. He was especially fond of the aesthetics and practical use of wood of different types, and he and a friend operated their own sawmill for several years.
Warren was a hunter and conservationist. He was a sort of Johnny Appleseed, planting and transplanting hundreds of trees on his property at Swan Lake. And he loved travel to Alaska and wintering in Arizona. He was a member of the Elks, VFW, American Legion and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Surviving are his wife, Lorna; four daughters, Lynn (Robert) Drechsel, of Madison, Wis., Sandra (Kim) Davis of Alexandria, Jackie (Steve Blacker) Johnson, of Boulder, Colo., and Geri Johnson, of Fergus Falls; five grandchildren, Megan (Neil Tomson) Drechsel, of Philadelphia, Penn., Sarah Drechsel, of St. Paul, Hannah Blacker and Ben Blacker, both of Boulder, Colo., and Sam Thieme, of Chadron, Neb.
The family will hold a private ceremony. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Olson Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.
Memorials may be directed to Lakeland Hospice or to any charity of the donor's choosing.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Warren Straub Johnson, please visit our flower store.
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