Benjamin Brock Johnson

Our Beloved Ben, returned to his gracious Lord and Savior as he was surrounded by his family's love and care on April 17, 2021, in Portland, Oregon. He was 32 years of age. He was born April 13, 1989 in Sacramento, California to Eric H. and Susan (Brock) Johnson.

A celebration of Life service will be held 2 pm, Saturday, May 8th at Grace Community Church, 800 SE Hogan Rd, Gresham, OR 97080

Ben was universally described as “good hearted.” Which was the ultimate irony, since Ben was born with a heart defect so complicated and severe that he was only expected to join us here on Earth for a few days. His physical heart was patched and cobbled together in the most crazy of ways. The imperfect heart inside his chest was always eclipsed by the wonderful heart and spirit Ben radiated to everyone who met him.

He was born in Sacramento, California where his father was finishing up his medical training as a neonatologist. The family moved to Anchorage, Alaska when Ben was two and he spent his entire childhood there. He graduated from Grace Christian High School in 2007 and in 2014, moved to Gresham, Oregon where he enjoyed the rest of his life with old and new friends and family.

He was born with a complex congenital heart defect, leaving him with basically half a heart and the likelihood of living only two days to two weeks. But after three months with minimal oxygen in his blood, being held by family 24 hours a day, an experimental procedure became available in Boston, and thus began the wild ride of medical miracles.

That surgery was one of many newly developed and experimental procedures Ben received that allowed us all to share three decades on this planet with him. Truly unbelievable. He had a lifetime marked by extreme health complications and many near death experiences. There were three times when his heart stopped completely and he needed prolonged CPR. One of which occurred when he was 11 years old when was stomped by a moose in the yard, and found pulseless with no signs of life. On top of all his other medical struggles, he endured that random and horrific event. It took a year for him to recover. But he did. The last 10 months were especially difficult as his heart condition caused liver disease, blood platelet issues, and then vessels began bleeding into different parts of his brain. Ben endured so many events and hospitalizations, but always walked away nearly unscathed. However the last bleed was into his brain stem which was not survivable.

His life was one miraculous survival after another. The fingerprints of God were all over Ben. He was gifted with an unbelievable fearlessness of death. He was always looking to a bright future. Many talented medical professionals and loving family members and friends pulled him through so many terrifying moments. He endeared himself to every doctor and nurse who cared for him. Each time someone left his hospital room, even after inflicting a painful procedure or a dire prognosis, he would thank them.

Not only was he relentlessly resilient, he was empathetic, hilarious, witty, and never had a bad thing to say about anybody. He could tell you any actor’s name from any obscure film or TV show, and was an avid Trekkie. You’ve never met a person who lived life more in the present moment and had the uncanny ability to make people value his personality and simple wisdom.

His physical heart was his biggest health problem. But it was his spiritual heart that was his greatest asset and brought us all to our sincere love for him. His heart…broken and beautiful all at the same time.

There is a Ben-sized hole left in this world, but we are all so blessed to have shared this God-ordained journey with him. Ben had a wildly successful Away Mission and now….on to the final frontier. Engage!”