Brett Thomas Johnson

Brett Thomas Johnson of Upper Arlington Ohio, passed away unexpectedly on April 29, 2024, at age 42. Tremendously beloved Son, Husband, Father, and Friend, Brett was born in Columbus, OH to Thomas Allen Johnson and Madeline Kay Johnson (Evans), grandson of the late Donald and Carol Johnson, the late Charles “Gene” Evans, and (Daisy) Madeline and Earl Derring, Brett attended Grove City High School, where he was a standout in both football and baseball. Brett then pitched college baseball at Otterbein University in Westerville OH until a shoulder injury ended his baseball dreams. Instead, he began a career with the Columbus Division of Police that lasted 20 years until his death.

Brett will be forever mourned by his soulmate and best friend, his wife, Jenny Rebecca Johnson (Stratton), who does not know who will remind her to stop pressing too many keys at once on her phone, or who will laugh at her absurd jokes. There is an enormous hole in her heart that will never be filled, and a missing piece that is gone forever.

Brett was truly the proudest, most devoted, and most cherished father of Ivan, Conor, Avery, and Millie, and participated in each and every activity he could, as his work schedule allowed. Brett would never EVER be caught being a “bucket sitter.” His greatest joy was watching his children grow and learn and seeing them in their individual triumphs. His advice to his children was often reminding them to, “Give yourself some grace.”

Brett is also survived by his older brother Heath Johnson, wife Emily, their children Logan, Oliver, Brady, and Mirabelle; Stepmother Lori Johnson (Dingess); In-Laws Kim and Teri Fox (Greiner), In-Laws Bruce (Deceased) and Sandra Stratton; Brother-in-law David Justice and wife Jamie (Innis), their children Madison, Olivia, and Max, Sister-In-Law Mary Beth Dooley, husband David, their son Ryan; Sister-in-Law Christianne Stratton (Deceased), her children, Alyssa Clauss and Asher Moore; Brother-in-Law Gary Tumlinson, his wife Rhonda, son Kaiser Creek; Brother-in-Law Mark Stratton, his wife Cecille, children Marina, Malala, Mikee, and Miguel; plus so many extended family members and friends, and his CPD family from the 107th CPD Recruit Class, 11B, 16C, Z5MW, Second Shift Robbery, and Second Shift Property Crimes.

Brett was a larger-than-life personality, once described as, “If Mr. Incredible and Kevin James had a baby.” Brett never met a stranger and could have you in tears of laughter within minutes- whether it be with his infamous "Air Bagpipes," his incredible impressions, or "Peanut Butter Jelly Time," (FYI, Brett learned it's cheaper to own a banana suit than to rent one).

Brett was also generous with his time and talents and would drop what he was doing in a heartbeat to help someone. He had a reputation of being able to fix anything, and regularly repaired cars for friends, neighbors, and even people he had never met. He could rehab anything in the house too, although sometimes it took much longer than anticipated, and his colorful cursing while performing those repairs could be heard throughout the house.

Brett was an avid Blue Jackets fan and season ticket holder, who oftentimes made predictions for team movements he felt needed to happen, that would then occur as if he had a direct line to John Davidson. His greatest moment came when after months of talking about how they needed to call up a certain young Russian player from the Cleveland Monsters, Kirill Marchenko made his CBJ debut and immediately showed everyone why Brett wanted him to make it to The Show.

A lifelong golfer, he lived for good golfing weather, and had a dream come true last year to not only travel to Scotland for the first time, but to see The Old Course at St. Andrews.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Brett was his limitless passion for Space and Astrophysics, and his ability to talk in depth about black holes, quantum physics, superstring theory, and relativity. He was a regular contributor to Star Talk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice and hoped to hear Brian Cox lecture on his next trip to the UK. In his next life, Brett will be Albert Einstein, and was growing his hair out in preparation.

In all those amazing complexities that made Brett Johnson the fascinating, hilarious, generous, genius that he was- he was also humble. Maybe not surprisingly, Brett once wrote down what he thought his eulogy should be, in his own words:

“Here lies Brett, a dedicated husband, father, and son. Brett was survived by those he loved with all of his soul. Jenny, Ivan, Conor, Avery, and Millie. Although he struggled to understand himself, he understood the value of family. He may not have been the person he wanted to be all the time, but he never gave up trying. He absolutely loved his wife Jenny with everything he had. He was a great father and worked to put others above him. He loved sharing his life with Jenny and will carry her love with him to eternal rest.

The purpose of my life is to simply love and care for my family. Work doesn’t matter, friends come and go. Love and family are what matter. The meaning of life is something I don’t know how to express. I just want to love my wife and children with all that I have. I am trying to accomplish pure joy. That joy can only come in the form of knowing love and knowing those I love experience that love from me from me to the fullest.

I never thought about leaving a legacy. I just want those I love to know that I did everything in my power to make up for my shortcomings and know that I took their love with me and will always be with them, even in death.”

Family will receive friends from 4:00-7:00pm on Monday, May 6, 2024 at SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST, 1740 Zollinger Road, Columbus, Ohio 43221. Funeral Service will be held at 2:00pm on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at First Community Church North Campus, 3777 Dublin Road, Columbus, Ohio 43221.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the CBJ Foundation in Brett’s name https://communityreport.bluejackets.com/get-involved/. Please visit www.schoedinger.com to share memories and condolences.