George M. Johnson
November 26, 1942 ~ November 21, 2013
George Milton Johnson, age 70 of Forest Lake, passed away on Thursday, November 21, 2013. Loving Husband, Dad, Grandpa. Retired Forest Lake Firefighter and State Fire Instructor. George is preceded in death by parents, George and Catherine (Smith) Johnson; brothers, Philip Johnson and Milton Johnson. He will be deeply missed by his wife of 49 years, Claudia; sons and daughters-in-laws, Dean and Sandi and Scott and Lorene; grandchildren, Stephen, Daniel, Angie, Liana, and Mollie; great grandson, Aiden George Johnson; other relatives and many friends. George can be remembered as an avid hunter, fisherman, and camper. A celebration of Georges life will be held 11:00 AM Monday, Nov. 25th at Faith Lutheran Church, 886 North Shore Trail, Forest Lake, MN with a gathering of family and friends beginning at 9:00 AM. Inurnment Faith Lutheran Columbarium.
In a few days… It will have been a year since you passed… I miss you so much… I think of you every day…
I wish you were around still… A lot of big things going on in my life… Things that I wish that I could share with you like, Ben and I getting married…
I love you so much Grandpa. And you are greatly missed..
My sincere condolences to you and your family. Revelation 21:4 make this promise, it says: ” And he (God) will wipe out every tear from their eyes and death will be no more, neither will morning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” What a beautiful promise, we all look forward, from our loving Creator, (Jehovah God, Psalm 83:18). May the God of peace be with you and your family.
Sincerely Yours,
Brandy Molina
I can’t believe George no longer walks physically among us! I worked with him at WITC, and we became fast friends. Though our interests were so different, I do love fire trucks, and George told me much about his many collections. I’d hear his voice when his visited Jack here on campus and I’d always jump from my chair to greet him. One day he came in with a heavy bag and set it in my office, saying it was for me. I looked in the bag then quizzically back at him. “It’s a siren for a fire truck,” he laughed. I was beside myself with joy! I told him I couldn’t accept a part of his collection, but George being the generous, kind, thoughtful person he was, insisted. To this day, years later, the siren is prominently displayed in my office. Now it has the added responsibility of providing memories of a dear friend parted until we meet again in the Lord’s presence. I, too, light a candle for you George, and as another friend said, don’t extinguish this flame! Rest in peace, my friend, it’s well deserved. I will miss you.
George was a graet teacher and fire fighter. I work many FF. test with him. We were both members of the FIAM and examiner for the Minnesota Fire Service Certificaion Board.
I will miss George, my prayers are with you all
Paul Raleigh retired LjVFD amd MN-DOT
George an I came to know each other thru WITC. We became friends over the years. Being retired like myself he still had much to give back to the Fire Fighters he worked with an taught. He will be missed by many. Rest in peace my brother an friend
When I was a little boy, I spent a lot of time with Grandpa and Grandma. Summer and Holiday vacations from school usually meant a trip to Forest Lake. I have a lot of fond memories of my time with Grandpa, but some stand out much more than the others.
The first is of the many visits I took with Grandpa to the Columbus Township public works garage. I remember thinking how cool a job my grandpa had, driving the dump trucks and the grader. I was thrilled each time he allowed me to climb up into one of the vehicles; as well as the time he took me snow plowing and allowed me to operate the side plow. And, of course, those creaking steps up into the “nest,” his office.
When grandpa and grandma lived at the Village, Grandpa’s chair sat just at the end of the hallway in the living room. I remember when he used come home from work or a fire, he’d sit right down in his chair. Out would come the foot rest and soon the entire apartment was filled with what sounded like a bear asleep in the living room. I’m not sure how this game ever got started, but I used to run down that hallway, trying to get past that sleeping bear. I’d almost just clear his chair and then this enormous but gentle paw would grab me and I’d hear, “Gotcha,” and then he’d laugh. I remember how absolutely huge his hands were.
I heard somewhere once that the size of a man’s hands indicates the size of his heart. For Grandpa, this was true. Grandpa George had such an unbelievably huge heart, filled with so much love. It was that one-of-a-kind sort of love; the hard to explain variety.
No matter what I ever did, no matter how often I came to see him, Grandpa always gave that special George smile, that said he loved me. You were the first real male role model I had, and the best grandfather a boy could ask for. I will miss you greatly! With much love.
George may you rest in perfect peace. We will forever remember our coffee meetings with you and Claudia while you were here in Florida….we enjoyed our time together. Claudia our prayers are with you and your family.
When we’re kids, growing up, we see our grandparents as bionic warriors. Strong superheros. We can’t imagine waking up one day and one isn’t there anymore. You were and forever will be an inspiring man. Not only to your beautiful wife (Grandma), to your sons and their wives, your grandchildren, your great grand-baby, but to many others, who will pass on the knowledge, love, kindness and many more amazing qualities you had and that you had shared with us over the years. You are a true hero. You and Grandma were always there for us kids. From band concerts to award ceremonies. Talent shows to letting us live with the both of you for two months while finishing school to graduation. You always had that twinkle in your eyes, the one we sometimes see in Dad (Scott) and Uncle Dean. Thank you for everything you and Grandma have done for me. Like many others, I love you so much Grandpa. I know that we all will one day, see you again. Until then, we will carry you in our hearts and in our memories. Grandpa, rest in peace.
•Words cannot express our sadness. May the comfort of God help you all through this difficult time. •Someone as special as George will never be forgotten. He will remain in our hearts forever and we will always cherish the beautiful memories we have. GeorgeTHANK YOU for being a great role model for Hunter and teaching him so many things. Claudia if there is anything we can do for you, even though we are miles apart PLEASE call us ANYTIME and know that we are thinking of you and praying for you.
With our love and deepest sympathy,
Tom,Rose and Hunter Armstrong
My heart is heavy. I will greatly miss you in cardiac rehab. Your spirit will live with me forever.
“We’ll done, good and faithful servant; what you did for others you did for me.” These words by Christ express the grateful ness of those who knew George. Claudia and family and friends, please be accepting of the expressions of sympathy and care and concern. Jesus uses the voices, hands and feet of those who believe and love HIM to extend his love to others.
Peace,
GEORGE, AS A FIRE SERVICE INSTRUCTOR, YOU LEAVE A LEGACY OF UNIMAGINABLE WORTH. MANY OF THE YOUNGER FIREFIGHTERS YOU TAUGHT WILL, LATE IN THEIR CAREERS, TEACH FIREFIGHTERS WHO ARE NOT YET BORN. THIS IS A DIRECT RESULT OF YOUR EFFORTS. THAT IS A CERTAINTY.
EVEN THOUGHT GEORGE YOU ARE NO LONGER HERE ON THIS EARTH, THIS YET UNBORN GENERATION WILL BE TOUCHED BY YOU THROUGH THEM. YOUR WORK WAS SO VITALLY IMPORTANT TO
THE LIVES AND THE SAFETY OF SO MANY HUMAN BEINGS, MOST OF WHOM WE WILL NEVER SEE OR KNOW.
We will miss you, Uncle George.
Howie, dawn and Little Howie
George was a wonderful friend and neighbor to those of us on Clear Lake’s North Shore. He would never pass by in his beloved Ford Trucks without sharing a wave and a friendly greeting. The summer days were spent enjoying the lake either on the pontoon or from his front lawn with his beloved Claudia. We are going to miss you, dear George, Russ and Julianne Peterson
Claudia and family, George was a great man who will be missed by many! When we lived in the same apartment building, the kids both knew George the fireman lived upstairs. When I fell and broke my ankle, the first thing I told them was to go get the fireman. Up they ran to George. He was like a knight in shining armor. He can running down those stairs and scooped me up like nothing and brought me back to my place. He called for help and stayed with me. Claudia watched the kids and George even bought some girl scout cookies while I was being sent off to the hospital. He was my hero that day and has been a hero for many in his day. He dedicated his life to serving others as we are called to do. I’m sure you are resting now in peace George and have heard the words, ‘Well done good and faithful servant’! I’m going to light a candle for you now George. Don’t put out this flame!
I had the good fortune to both train with and be trained by George. We are all safer, better firefighters by his good work. Thank you Johnson family for sharing George with us.
I worked with George doing Fire Training for WITC. Great Instructor and mentor to many Fireman throughout his career. He had a great sense of humor and could dish it out with the best of them, along with taking it. A great asset to the Fire community and will be remembered for his contribution to enhancing Firefighting skills for his students. RIP my Brother.
Rest well my friend, you will always be remebered at the Grantsburg Fire Department.