Ronald John Johnson

Ron was born in the rural municipality of St Laurent, Manitoba on January 17, 1934. He was the firstborn son followed by 3 brothers in the coming years. The family lived in Oak Point, Manitoba and earned their living on the land and fishing Lake Manitoba. Dad talked fondly of trapping and ice fishing with his Dad, and bringing in firewood for his Grandmother. Dad is of Icelandic heritage, and proud to be of “Viking” stock. He would occasionally share a few words of Icelandic. As a young man Dad loved to play baseball and hockey. Dad had a wonderful sense of humour, and was a tease, and a jokester to the end.

Dad met his wife Gail Carter at a wedding in the Oak Point hall, and having found “the one”, they were married a short time later. Three children followed - their son Gary, followed by daughters Ronda Lee a year later, and Melanie 8 years later.
Ron and Gail made a number of moves throughout their marriage taking them from Manitoba to BC back to Manitoba where Dad worked as an extruder operator and printer at Union Carbide. Dad took a job promotion and transfer to Ontario in 1967 with the promise of day shifts that unfortunately did not occur. As a result, within a year, Dad accepted a job in Edmonton, Alberta as a Supervisor for Polyrama Plastics, a plastic manufacturing company (later acquired by Western Concord), and was a dedicated employee until his retirement at age 60.

Two years after moving to Edmonton, Dad & Mom bought a small bungalow in the lovely neighbourhood of Crestwood where they spent the next thirty two years gathering many close friends while raising their 3 children. Camping was the activity many weekends in the summer, and the destination of all early family vacations. Dad & Mom loved to hook up their 19 foot holiday trailer and head out to a fishing hole with friends and family. Dad’s young grandsons loved it when he towed them behind his 9.9 hp fishing boat. A highlight trip for Dad was a fly-in fishing adventure to Northern BC for his 70th birthday.

Dad’s garden was a source of pride and joy supplying the family with an abundance of vegetables every summer. He was particularly known for his knack of growing tomatoes of which bounty he shared with family and friends. At the age of 62 Dad took up wine making - red, white & blush, and continued to make wine for the next 15 years. Dad coached baseball & hockey when his kids were growing up, and in later years Dad and Mom volunteered for several years with Meals on Wheels.

After the kids moved out, Dad and Mom moved to a bungalow condo in St. Albert. This allowed them to move on to their next phase of life which was travelling to various destinations, and becoming snowbirds flocking south for a few months each winter to beat the snow and cold while enjoying golfing, gambling, and relaxation in the sun.

Dad partnered beautifully with Mom throughout their years together - they were a team! Dad had a heart event at age 75 (2009) which curtailed much of their ability to travel. Around 2020 Dad’s memory started to slowly fail throughout which Mom became Dad’s memory support. Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when Mom went into hospice in Feb 2022.
Everything in Dad’s life changed as he not only had to learn how to live in a world without Mom by his side; he had to learn how to live at a memory care facility. Dad visited Mom almost everyday until he lost the love of his life in June 2022 when Mom passed away from cancer. Dad slowly but steadily declined in his cognitive and physical abilities, but throughout it all kept his sense of humour that shined through his deep blue eyes.

We love you and will miss you Dad, Grandpa, Great Grandpa!

Gary and Dawn
Ronda and Brad
Melanie and Tobin
Chad, Simar and Rajan
Travis, Kari, Olivia and Evelyn