Ernest Johnson

Ernest Joseph Rupert Johnson was born on May 23, 1941 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to John and Dora (Nalesna) Johnson. Ernie met his wife Louise in high school and they became high school sweethearts. They married in 1962 in Minneapolis and later moved to California followed by Washington and finally Oregon. They settled in North Bend which always felt like “home” to them. They started a family and had 3 daughters, Jacqueline, Jill and Jessica. Later, they adopted two boys, Vincent and Nicholas. As a family they enjoyed recreational activities at the park such as flying kites, going on picnics, river rafting and metal detecting. Holidays were always spent together and staying close to his children was very important. Ernie had a long time professional career as a newspaper composer building the pages long before computers did this work. Ernie retired at age 62 and later filled his life with all kinds of building and crafting. He was incredibly talented at building intricate model ships that he made by hand. He would spend easily 300 hours on one model, meticulously crafting the inside and outside of the ship to resemble the full likeness starting the process by simply sketching out his design. He also enjoyed model planes, guns and classic cars. Ernie was truly a craftsman that you cannot find today and had much patience when he built such intricate projects. One of his most prized model ships was one that he built for his wife and named it “Louisa Sue”. He and his wife were married for 55 years until her passing in 2017. Family had always been central to his life and with his wife’s passing left a huge void. After a brief illness, Ernie passed away on September 25, 2018 in Salem, Oregon at age 77. He is survived by his children, Jacqueline (Harry), Jill, Jessica (John), Vincent (Carmella) and Nicholas in addition to four grandchildren, Samantha, Brandon, Britney and James.