Dudley B. Johnson

Dudley Johnson, 83, of Kanawha passed away Thursday, June 12, 2014 at Muse-Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City.

Memorial services for Dudley Johnson will be held on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 1:30 PM at the Kanawha Lutheran Church, 124 West Fourth Street in Kanawha with Pastors Geoffrey and Char White officiating.  A private family burial will take place prior to services at the church.

Visitation for Dudley Johnson will be held from 5:00 – 7:00 PM on Monday, June 16, 2014 at the Kanawha Lutheran Church, 124 West Fourth Street in Kanawha.

Dudley Bernard Johnson, age 83, was born on a farm northwest of Belmond on February 5, 1931, the eighth child of eleven born to Carlton and Adina (Hefte) Johnson. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Olaf Lutheran Church, Belmond.

Dudley attended a rural school through eighth grade and two and a half years of high school at Belmond. In February of 1948 he moved with his parents to a farm west of Kanawha and graduated from Kanawha High with the class of ’49. After helping on the farm for two years he enlisted in the United States Air Force. He was stationed at Mitchel AFB, Hempstead, Long Island, New York.

On October 7, 1952, he was united in marriage to Janice Hughes in the chapel at Mitchel AFB. His father passed away in May of 1953 and Dudley received a hardship discharge to take over the farming operation. He loved farming and felt privileged to be called a farmer. He enjoyed farming to the fullest and enjoyed working with the Harle family even after his retirement, continuing through the fall of 2013.

Dudley and Janice enjoyed dancing for over sixty years. They spent twenty some years wintering in Arizona. He was a member of Kanawha Lutheran Church and held several positions on the church council. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Farmers Cooperative Elevator where he served for nineteen years, several of those years as secretary-treasurer. Music was something he enjoyed and he sang with the Ward and Betty Wright Band for eighteen years. He organized a tractor ride out of Kanawha for four years to raise funds for the Youth Activity Organization. He also participated in other tractor rides. He enjoyed driving tractors in the Kanawha Labor Day parade, coming up with many creative ways to entertain people along the route.

Dudley is survived by Janice, his wife of almost sixty-two years, one daughter, Belinda, and her husband Dennis, and three sons, Terry and his wife Paula, Scott, and Kurt and his special friend, Michelle, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He is also survived by two brothers, Arland and his wife Avis, and Gary and his wife Barbara.

Dudley was preceded in death by his parents, two infant brothers, five sisters and their husbands, Laura (Telford) Simon, Edith (Stanley) Shahan, Carol (Earl) Christenson, Wilma (Donald) Friesleben, and Aileen (Clifford) Johnson, and one brother and his wife, Gaylen (Delores) Johnson. Five nephews also preceded him in death, Dennis Simon, Jody Johnson, Tony Johnson, Bart Johnson, and Roger Shahan.