John S. Johnson
Port Townsend, Wash.
Dec. 7, 1939 – Jan. 16, 2017
John S Johnson, a lifelong resident of Port Townsend, passed away peacefully at home Jan. 16, 2017 with his family by his side.
John was born to Carl J. and Florence (Guthrie) Johnson on Dec. 7, 1939 in Port Townsend, the fifth of nine children. The family lived in Dabob at the time but moved to Port Townsend before he was school age. He attended Port Townsend schools and graduated with the class of 1958. John met Rose Settle, the love of his life, while visiting family in Chehalis, Wash.. They married Dec 23, 1967 in Centralia, Wash. and just celebrated 49 years of marriage. Their daughter, Jalene was born in April 1969.
John always had a job starting with a paper route and haying in the summers. While in high school he worked for Al Choate Auto Repair and Skip’s Uptown Union 76 station. After graduation he worked as a sawyer for Stanley Hardwoods at Center for ten years. In the early 1970’s he began his truck driving career delivering gas and heating oils locally, first for Union 76 Oil Co., then many years for Thomas Oil and finally for Pacific Northwest Oil as the companies closed or sold, retiring in 1999.
John was also a volunteer firefighter for 25 years with what was then the Port Townsend Fire Department, retiring in 2000. For many years he was head of the beef BBQ at the Jefferson County Fair which was manned by the fire department. This was during the years when a pit was dug and the roasts were put in the pit to cook overnight. The fire department years were some of his most enjoyable and memorable. He was a life member of BPOE 317. He served six years as a trustee and spent many Friday nights volunteering in the kitchen.
He always had a love of vintage cars and was a past member of the Rakers Car Club. Over the years he restored a 1936 Packard that won many awards at the local car show including People’s Choice and Show Favorite awards. He also restored a 1963 Ford Galaxy 500 XL convertible and it can still be seen around town.
John and Rose always had an RV and enjoyed weekend camping trips as well as extended trips to Alaska, Arizona, South Dakota and other points of interest in the western US. John was a loving husband, father, favorite uncle and had many lifelong friends. For many years, before his health declined John looked forward to November and an annual week of elk hunting with a group of friends.
John was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Robert, Earl and his twin Benjamin as well as his sisters Dorothy Reicke, Katherine Beres and Sharon Giusti. He is survived by his wife at the family home, daughter Jalene (Matt) Nicholas of Poulsbo, sister Leona Martin of Everett and brother Roger.
There are many people the family would like to thank for the wonderful care John received during the past few years. Among those are Dr. Janssen, the staff of Home Health and Hospice, Patty Hoyecki and Alice Fox, as well as his care givers, Makayla and Margaret.
At his request there will be no formal services.
