Philip Christian JOHNSON

JOHNSON, STOLLEY, LARSON, ROMEY, HINDERKS, JORDAN, HAMILTON, BERGESON, KOENECKE, CLARK, MITCHELL

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 3/27/2015 at 13:55:10

March 11, 1943 -- March 24, 2015

ESTHERVILLE - Funeral services for Philip 'Phil' Johnson, 72, of Estherville will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, March 30, 2015 at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Estherville with Pastor Randy James officiating. Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. Sunday at Henry-Olson Funeral Chapel in Estherville with Masonic Service at 7 p.m. He died Tuesday evening, March 24, 2015 at his home in Estherville after a six-and-a-half year courageous battle with cancer.

Phillip Christian Johnson was born on March 11, 1943 in Moorhead, Iowa, the son of John Jefferson Johnson and Nadine Evelyn (Stolley) Johnson. He grew up on a farm and graduated from Moorhead High School in 1961. After high school he went to Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. and graduated in 1967. While in college Phil married Jane E. Larson in Canton, S.D., on July 3, 1964. His first teaching job was in Belmond where he taught math and was a part-time counselor and coach. During the summers, he attended Iowa State and received his master's degree in guidance and counseling. In 1974, they moved to Glenwood for one year before moving to Estherville. Phil taught math and then was the middle-school counselor for a short time, before moving to the Estherville High School to be the guidance counselor. Phil's caring, compassionate and understanding personality allowed him many years of guiding students. He retired from the Estherville Lincoln Central High School in 1999. During his retirement he enjoyed being an adjunct teacher for Buena Vista University and helping students to grow to be the best that they can be. Phil was united in marriage to Ellen Heidecker on June 24, 2000 at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Estherville. They lived on an acreage northwest of Estherville and in 2005, they moved to an acreage near Sherburn, Minn. Phil was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and they moved back to Estherville in 2009. His passion was for horses, raising them and working with them whenever he could. Phil and Ellen enjoyed taking trips out west to the Black Hills, Wyoming and Montana where Phil got in an occasional horseback ride. Phil was a carpenter for most of his life and was always willing to lend a helping hand. He was a member of the North Star Masonic Lodge #447 in Estherville, Redeemer Lutheran Church and was a former member of Kinship.

Those that will cherish his memory include his wife, Ellen Johnson, of Estherville; three children, Rick Johnson and his wife, Gayle, of Spencer, and their children, Amber, Emily and Adam, Cyndi Johnson and her husband, Brad, of Fairmont, Minn. and their children, Matt, Nick, Thomas and Andrew, Daron Johnson and his wife, Laurie, of Fairmont and their children, Nathan, Tyler and Sophie; two step-daughters, Jessie Romey and her husband, Jason, of Urbandale, and their children, Caleb and Sophie, Tara Hinderks and her husband, Jon, of Renville, Minn., and their children, Kade and Holly; one brother, Carl Johnson and his wife, Geri, of Onawa; two sisters, Jeanine Jordan and her husband, Bob, of Gardnerville, Nev., Judy Hamilton and her husband, Irvin, of Pattonsburg, Mo.; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Barb Johnson of Soldier, Kenny and Dixie Bergeson of Boone, Vivian and Dean Koenecke of Alexandria, Minn., Julie and Larry Clark of Estherville; many nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives and friends. In addition to his parents, Phil was also preceded in death by one brother, Tony Johnson, and sister-in-law, Bonnie Mitchell.

March 26, 2015
Estherville Daily News - Estherville, Iowa