Johnson, Virgil Eugene 1920-2005

JOHNSON, ONKEN, ANDERSEN

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, Volunteer
Date: 4/14/2007 at 20:09:57

BATTLE CREEK, Iowa -- Virgil Johnson, 85, of Battle Creek died Sunday, Aug. 21, 2005, at Willow Dale Wellness Village in Battle Creek.

Memorial services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at St. John's Lutheran Church in Battle Creek, with the Rev. Rod Dunker officiating. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery, with military rites conducted by the American Legion Maple Valley Post 313. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service Wednesday at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Christensen-Huffman Funeral Home in Battle Creek.

Born April 30, 1920, in Oakdale, Neb., Virgil Eugene Johnson was the son of William R. and Gesena (Onken) Johnson. He was baptized as an infant in Tilden, Neb. and confirmed in the Lutheran faith on March 25, 1934, at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Coon Rapids, Iowa. He attended country school in Coon Rapids, then helped on the family farm.

He worked for two years in Chicago before joining the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He was shot down over Ploesti, Yugoslavia and was held as a P.O.W. by the Serbian Army for eight months. Following the war, he returned to Iowa, where he settled in Battle Creek. He went into the gasoline business with his father and brother, Richard Johnson. They operated Johnson Oil Co. Inc. until retiring in the early 1980s.

He was united in marriage to Hazel Andersen at St. John's Lutheran Church in Le Mars, Iowa. The couple would have celebrated 60 years of marriage on Oct. 3, 2005. They enjoyed wintering in south Texas for more than 20 years. He enjoyed golfing, fishing and spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Survivors include his wife, Hazel; two daughters, Denise Johnson of Milwaukee, Wis., and her fiance, Wayne Burton and Nancy and her husband, Darrell Sass of San Antonio, Texas; two sons, David Johnson and his wife, Joyce of Battle Creek and Scott Johnson of Big Spring, Texas; five grandchildren, Stephanie Bamsch, Kristen Hodgen, Megan Torgrude, Erica Slavin and Adam Johnson; four great-grandchildren, Emma Grace Bamsch, Andrew Bamsch, Addison Hodgen and Aidan Johnson; a brother, Richard Johnson of Battle Creek; and two sisters, Shirley McAllister of Tucson, Ariz., and Velma Korneski of Battle Creek.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a grandson, Tyler Johnson; a brother, Marvin Johnson; and three sisters, Irene Johnson, Bernice Johnson and Myrtle Lucht.

[Part of the Darrell Eason Obituary Collection; source:Sioux City Journal]