Dennis C Johnson

Dennis C. Johnson, 69, of Eldridge passed away on Monday, July 31, 2017 in the comforts of his home. Funeral services will be at 10:00 am on Saturday, August 5, 2017 at Faith Lutheran Church, Eldridge. Visitation will be from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm Friday at the Church. Memorials may be made to the family to establish a fund. Online condolences may be expressed at www.rungemortuary.com. Dennis was born July 14, 1948 in Decorah, IA to Vernon and Lillian (Tollefson) Johnson. He was united in marriage to Linda VanGorp on August 21, 1971 in Decorah. He served six years in the Army Reserves. Dennis was a teacher, administrator and respected softball coach for North Scott High School for over 40 years. He began his career as a Drivers Ed teacher and went on to become Dean of Students and finally Activities Director. He also started the At Risk Program during his time at the high school. In his successful career, he coached 1249 wins for North Scott High School Softball Team and took his team to state ten times, bringing home the championship twice. In addition he coached girls cross country from 1978 to 1990, winning state in 1998. He was the only North Scott coach to win state championships in two sports. He was inducted into the Iowa Girls Coaches Hall of Fame in 1998 and the North Scott Hall of Fame in 2013. He was selected Athletic Director of the year for his district in 2006. However, his greatest accomplishment was being a loving husband, father and grandfather. In Dennis’ free time he enjoyed watching western movies, playing pinnacle and golf, fishing, deer and pheasant hunting and his family’s annual trips to Minnesota. He especially loved spending time with his grandchildren. Those left to honor his memory include his loving wife of 46 years, Linda; children, Troy (Tomomi Watanabe) Johnson and Kelly (Justin) Diercks; grandchildren: Keegan, Kayden and Kinsley; brothers: Davis (Shirley) Johnson and Mark Johnson; sister, Wanda (Ron) Hemesath and a large extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents.