Johnson, Roy B. (1920-2011)
JOHNSON, GROTEWOLD, OLSEN, TWITO, TARDIFF
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 11/15/2011 at 12:22:11
Col. Roy B. Johnson
(March 19, 1920 - November 2, 2011)Roy Bernald Johnson — Col. Roy B. Johnson to most who knew him — passed away Wednesday, November 2, 2011, at the Timely Mission Nursing Home in Buffalo Center, Iowa, to be with his Lord and Savior.
Roy was born March 19, 1920, in rural Scarville, Iowa, to Ode and Ole Johnson. The third of six children, he was raised on the family farm just south of Scarville where he learned early in life the value of hard work, a trait he carried with him in everything he did for the rest of his life. Roy went to school in Scarville and graduated with the class of 1937.
Upon graduation, he worked in the area for various farmers and merchants as well as on the family farm. He was ultimately employed by the Grotewold Hatchery in Lake Mills, Iowa, where he worked for a number of years.
A horseback riding injury, which nearly cost him his leg, kept him out of World War II, even though he tried to enlist three different times. Those failed attempts, however, didn’t prevent the war from touching him deeply and personally. His older brother George, also his best friend, was killed in action in Germany during the last days of the war in April 1945.
In August of 1945, Roy married Yvonne (Bonnie) Grotewold of Lake Mills, Iowa — the boss’s daughter. In 1946, they moved to Buffalo Center, having purchased the hatchery and feed mill the business there. They renamed it the Roy B. Johnson Hatchery. Roy loved Buffalo Center and lived there the rest of his life.
In 1947, their first child, Gary, was born. They subsequently had three more children: Roy, Jean, and Dave.
Very involved in innumerable aspects of the town’s life over the years, Roy became a business, civic, and church leader in Buffalo Center. He served three terms as Mayor, donating his pay to buy the “Welcome to Buffalo Center” sign outside of town. A member of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church for sixty-five years, he served on the church council and held various other positions including Sunday school teacher. He served on the board of the Centre Stage Players for twenty-four years as well as on various other boards and organizations.
Roy conducted hundreds of charity auctions over the decades for many different groups and churches in the area. He also ‘called’ many square dances during the nineteen fifties and sixties. From that, “The Little Ranch Hands” was formed, a group of local children ages five to seven who performed square dances all over northern Iowa and southern Minnesota and regularly appeared on KGLO-TV in Mason City.
In 1958, Roy and Bonnie opened the A&W Drive-In (now the BC Restaurant) with their partners, the late Charlie and Arlene DeVries. A central meeting place in town, it served up to one thousand cars over a big weekend. They sold that business in 1969.
In the early nineteen fifties, Roy went into the Shetland pony business with the late Bill Meyers. They owned upward of two hundred fifty ponies, and, for several years, they sponsored a nationally recognized two-day consignment pony auction. At these auctions, Roy got his start in the auctioneering business. Most didn’t know it, but he had wanted to do auctioneering since childhood.
From that point on, Roy scrambled after every auction he could get and even operated a consignment auction house on Main Street in Buffalo Center for several years. By 1965, he was so busy with his auction ‘side-business’ that he ‘retired from working,’ by his definition, selling the hatchery and feed store business. Becoming a fulltime auctioneer, Roy went on an amazing run – conducting over six thousand auctions over the next forty years culminating in 2000 with his induction as the first ever non-Minnesotan auctioneer into the Minnesota Auctioneers Hall of Fame, an honor indeed.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Gordon, who died in childhood, George, and Reuben (Wells, Minnesota); and his sister, Marjorie (Lenexa, Kansas).
Roy’s life was defined by his faith in God, his positive outlook on life, his belief in hard work, and his love of people. A friendly, caring, loyal, and generous man, he had a keen sense of humor. He always understood the important things in life — God, family, and friends. His legacy lives on through Bonnie, his loving wife of sixty-six years; his children: Gary (and wife Joan), of Moorpark, California, Roy (and wife Judi), of Noblesville, Indiana, Jean (and husband Steve), of Goodyear, Arizona, and Dave (and wife Diane), of Moorpark, California; as well as his four grandchildren: Alexandra Johnson, of Santa Monica, California, Matthew Johnson, a senior at Columbia University, New York City, and the twins, Roy and Kaia Johnson, seniors at Purdue University; his sister, Doris Olsen, of Wells, Minnesota; his brothers-in-law, Don (Doris) Grotewold, of Lake Mills, Iowa, and Gerald (Betty) Grotewold, of Phoenix, Arizona; his sisters-in-law, Ramona Twito, of Lake Mills, Iowa, and Marjorie (Peter) Tardiff, of Scottsdale, Arizona; and many nieces, nephews, in-laws, and friends.
The family would like to thank all the staff at Timely Mission Nursing Home for their incredible kindness and dedication over the last couple of months. Also, thank you to Pastor Perry, friends, and family who gave Roy such joy and comfort to his last days. Our loss is Heaven’s gain.
Memorial services will be at 1:30 PM, Monday, November 7, 2011, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Buffalo Center. Visitation will be held Sunday, November 6, from 4:00-6:00 PM at the church.
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