Ronald DeWayne Johnson Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Ronald DeWayne Johnson, age 76, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, died peacefully surrounded by his wife and loving family on Saturday, July 2, 2022, at the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home in Fort Dodge. Ron had been hospitalized frequently the past two years due to COPD and pneumonia. Ron was born on the family farm, two miles east of Pomeroy on September 21, 1945, to Erwin D.and Frieda (Peters) Johnson. Ron was the second child of four, with an older brother, Donald, and younger brother, Arnold, and a sister, Deborah. Ron was baptized and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Pomeroy. His education started in the Sherman Township Country School, but he soon was bused to the Pomeroy Community School where he graduated with the class of 1964. He loved playing basketball and football on the Pomeroy teams with his younger brother, Arnie, as they towered over most of the players. He married Elaine Ertz at Corpus Christi Church in Fort Dodge on June 12th, 1970 and to that union were blessed with a daughter, Lisa. Ron served in the National Guard. For 60 years, Ron lived in Fort Dodge where he both worked at National Gypsum and invested in real estate, which he rented to many area families. The most memorable work at National Gypsum was when he was their mechanic and dynamite specialist. For years, Ron had a passion for fast cars, owning numerous race cars which he drove at the Humboldt County Dragway. Ron was very mechanical, and he used those skills to improve the real estate in which he invested. An absolute love of Ron’s was doing the daily crossword, sudoku, and watching wrestling on television. Ron and Elaine loved their grandchildren, and they traveled to California to their grandson, Branden Carlson’s wedding in 2015. Casino gambling and eating the delicious buffets was a favorite hobby as well. Ron is survived by his wife of 52 years, Elaine of Fort Dodge; his daughter, Lisa (Jason) Borkowski of Boone; four grandchildren: Branden (Brittany) Carlson of South Carolina, and Caden, Kyle, and Emma Borkowski of Boone. His two precious great-granddaughters, Raelynn and Danica Carlson of South Carolina. His brother, Arnold Johnson, still lives in the farmhouse where Ron was born. His brother-in-law and sister, Tom and Debbie Engler of Horseshoe Bay, Texas. His sister-in-laws, Janet Johnson of Carroll and Joleen Sievertsen of Manilla, brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws Al Ertz and Carol Haines of Des Moines, Norman and Renae Ertz of Denison, Brian and Michele Ertz of Manilla. Numerous nieces and nephews are scattered across Iowa, Washington, Minnesota, and Texas, as well as numerous cousins. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Erwin and Frieda (Peters) Johnson, parent-in-laws, Leo and Irene (Steffes) Ertz as well as his older brother and 1st wife, Don, and Ruth Ann (Wiese) Johnson, Sharon (Ertz) Mosher, Amy (Grant) Johnson, and brother-in-law, Garnie Sievertsen. The Celebration of Ron’s life is Thursday, July 7th, at Gunderson Funeral Home with Pastor Jerry Schultz, also a graduate of Pomeroy, at 11 AM. A family viewing is at 9 AM with public viewing at 10 AM. The reception will be following at Community Tap and Pizza, Ron’s favorite pizza place, in the private dining room at 12:30 PM.

Tributes

Ronald DeWayne Johnson

September 21, 1945 - July 2, 2022