Nels G. Johnson Obituary (1936 - 2020)

Nels G. "Pete" Johnson Jr. passed away December 24th, in Springboro, Ohio. He was 84. Pete is survived by sons, Nels III, 55, of Millbrae, CA, and Mike, 51, of San Francisco. His passing was preceded by his two brothers', Whit in 1995, and Steven in 2009. Born on August 2, 1936 in Dayton, Ohio to Nels and Katherine Johnson. Pete grew up in Oakwood, graduating from Oakwood High School in 1954. He attended Purdue University, where he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1958, and then served briefly as a captain in the US Army at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. His first job as an engineer and technical sales representative with Wyman Gordon took him west to Palo Alto, California in 1960 where he met and married Judith Rock in 1963, with whom he raised his two sons in Los Altos and Saratoga. After two decades in the burgeoning tech industry of Silicon Valley, Pete returned to his childhood home in Oakwood in 1980. He continued his career as a technical sales representative with several companies in the Dayton area until he retired in 2001. Even while residing in the West, Pete was always an Ohioan at heart. An ardent Reds and Browns fan since his youth, Pete rarely missed a game on TV or the radio. Volunteering for years at Miami Valley Hospital, Pete was also active in the AA organization, leading monthly meetings with inmates at Montgomery County Jail. With his long association with the town of Oakwood, his neighbors viewed Pete as a kind of local historian, valuing his great wealth of community knowledge and experience, and his inimitable, dry sense of humor. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Pete's cremains will be interred in the family plot at Woodland Cemetery in a small memorial service this summer. Please share fond memories, correspondence or respects to petejohnsonmemorial2021@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, a contribution in Pete's honor would be appreciated: TCN Behavioral Health (www.tcn.org/donate-1) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~