Marshal William Johnson

MARSHAL WILLIAM JOHNSON He was brought into this world February 22, 1958, before the sun came up. Have you ever been to Sacramento, Calif. during that time of year? Foggy! Foggy! Then the sun will burn it off and by noon it is bright and shiny. That was the day that Marshal William Johnson was born to his daddy Lloyd "Dude" E. Johnson, almost 20 and Connie A. Johnson, almost 18! His sister, Michele Dawn was born in 1960. His brother, Mitchel Lloyd was born ten months later. Mitchel was premature and contracted meningitis at the hospital and died at ten days old. New daddy, mama, Marsh and Michele, were a happy little family. Lloyd seemed to always have enough work. We were never without something in our stomachs and always had a roof over our heads. Dude was a very good carpenter, Connie became a good cook and homemaker. She was a "Master Economist," clipping coupons, paying bills "on time" and saving money, when she could. The Johnson babies learned to swim in the Cosumnes River before they could walk. When Marsh learned to walk, he began walking toward forbidden things with both arms extended toward saying "No! No! Marsh! No! No!" Until he had the item in his hands; at that point he would turn and run with it. He went many miles, him running and his Mom or Dad in "Hot Pursuit." This was the way his early days were spent. He was so sweet! When Marsh was three he began to call his Mama "Honey." She loved that! We were sure he was going to be a mechanic, he took everything apart. But very seldom did he put them back together, even up to this time. He really was a good mechanic, he could fix most anything. It all just looked like a mess to his mom. We moved to Alaska when Marsh was ten. Just the right place for an arrogant, "I can do anything" kid. He proceeded to make the saying "The First Fifty Years Of Childhood Are The Toughest" really be true. We cried, called the police, begged and pleaded to no avail. When he was only 14 years old our baby boy left our home. No fight, just his parents begging and pleading he left anyway. He got on a boat and sailed to Knight Island. From there, he went to work on the "slime line" at the cannery on Kodiak Island. He had many adventures, too many to tell about here. During these adventures he went to Seward, AK. where he met Janet Wheeler. She became his sweet wife and the mother of his daughter, Patricia Ann in 1982 and his son, William C.L. Johnson in 1983. They had some real stormy times. Marsh was a story teller, he loved to have an audience. Most of the stories had a grain of truth. I wish we had written them down. He was a student of Robert W. Service, he loved to recite his poetry. He was a wonderful reader and shared his readings with the community at times. On the U.S. Census form, when he was asked what race he was,- he would mark "Human." He was a great teacher; he loved to teach, talk, and think about things that were of interest to him. He had a superb creative mind and many ideas. He had a passion for cars, particularly Classic American muscle. He was specifically enamored with the 1967 Ford Mustang. He did own one for a time, and would regularly burn the tires right off the rims. He could tell you by sight the year, make and model of many types of vehicles almost without fail. His second wife, Sherry came into his life in 1989 in California, bringing two year old Billy Bob to their marriage. He was a carpenter, able to do many phases of home building. He was injured at a job site in California in 1990. He was disabled from then on. They moved to Alaska several years later and began their "Alaskan Out Back Odyssey." Fixin' cars, eatin' moose and caribou, fishin' from dawn to dark, usin' an outhouse, racin' snow machines and 4 wheelers, and shovelin' snow, etc. Marsh did anything he could to make money. Sherry drove a cab. His happiest days were when his grandchildren were born; Julian Emery Taylor in 2002, Dakota Lane Johnson in 2003, Daniel Jacob Taylor in 2006, Autumn Anneleise Johnson in 2009 and Celeste Ann Johnson in 2011. He had a step-granddaughter too. Isabella was born in 2001. Marsh kept Julian out at his "Lil Papa's" place sometimes. They had a wonderful time together. Marsh helped with potty training by letting him pee out the front door. Boys will be boys. Marsh knew he had to leave Alaska to be able to quit the life he had been living. He left his rowdy friends in Alaska and came to Cortez, Colo. in 2006 for his parents' 50th Anniversary. He made many new and wonderful friends. Bruce and Nancy Maness had Marsh on their property to help, to fix the mechanical things, and mow the golf course. They knew that Marsh was trustworthy and they even took a vacation, leaving him to run it all by himself. Marsh worked at "Grace's Kitchen" and "The Bridge." He was a helper to many folks who needed special help for things that he was able to do. Linda, Jim and Jeff Jackson were wonderful friends too. Hardly a morning went by that Marsh did not tell his parents that he loved them. All of his 57 years come February 22, he has been a truly loving son. The last nine years were the best, however. Hardly a night went by that Marsh did not tell his parents that he loved them and to "sleep nice." And that is where this will end.