While his body ultimately gave out, his mind was sharp, and he was feisty until the very end.
Wayne was born May 10, 1935, in Kansas City, MO., into a bustling East Side home that housed two families and a lot of opinions. As the youngest of four children, including three older and determined sisters, Wayne quickly made his way in the world, embracing a work ethic and cultivating an indomitable spirit that would serve as the blueprint for the rest of his life.
Although he battled asthma as a child, even sleeping with his bedroom window open in the brutal Kansas City winters, Wayne shoveled coal from the driveway into the home’s furnace to ensure everyone else stayed warm. He got up at 3 a.m. each day to deliver The Kansas City Star by bicycle to homes in his neighborhood. As a young boy coming of age during the polio scare, Wayne gave his parents the fright of their lives when his legs went numb after a day of playing baseball with friends at a local sandlot. (He woke up the next morning, good as new, and headed back out to play more ball with his friends.)
After graduating from Paseo High School (class of 1953), Wayne parlayed his high-school education into a successful career as a grain trader in the heart of America’s bread basket, Kansas City. He started at the bottom, running grain samples back and forth to traders while also updating the commodity prices chalkboard at the old Kansas City Board of Trade building at Tenth and Wyandotte Streets. By the time he retired more than 35 years later, after working for companies including Bates Grain Co., Topeka Mill & Elevator Co., and General Mills, he had risen to be senior vice president of marketing for the respected U.S. grain operations of the Australian company, Elders Ltd.
Early in Wayne’s career, Shirley Alexander, a secretary in the Board of Trade office of Corn Products Refining Co., caught his eye, and a courtship was sparked. Wayne told Shirley on their first date that he intended to marry her, a proclamation that not only was quickly dismissed but off-putting to Shirley. But, with his characteristic persistence, charm, and sense of humor, he quickly won her over. On April 27, 1956, 14 months after that fateful first date, Wayne Johnson and Shirley Alexander were united in matrimony, beginning a 67-year love story and life journey that culminated with Wayne’s passing.
Wayne and Shirley quickly built their life together; by 1966, the couple had grown to a family of six. After more than a decade living in Overland Park, Kansas, Wayne and Shirley took a leap and bought a home on 15 acres east of Paola, Kansas – in the process becoming rural life stylers long before the term was ever in vogue. Paola remained home for Wayne and Shirley for more than 40 years before they once again returned to Overland Park in 2015.
Even in retirement, life didn’t slow down for Wayne. He and Shirley opened and operated Quail Ridge Antiques in Paola for several years, and he held leadership roles with the Miami County (Kansas Historical Museum and on the Paola Tourism Committee. He was an avid member and supporter of Rotary for many years, as well. He was so well known and respected in his adopted hometown of Paola that a number of people urged him to run for mayor – an impossibility given he and Shirley didn’t actually live in the city of Paola.
Wayne had so many passions, including Civil War history, antiques, sports, politics, hunting and fishing, old Hollywood movies, animals and gambling. Wayne was a passionate sports fan and thrilled to see his beloved Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs both claim world championships recently after years of futility.
As among the very last members of his generation in the Mayse/Johnson family, Wayne was preceded in death by countless loved ones, including but not limited to his mother, Edith (Mayse) Johnson; father, Norman C. Johnson; sister and brother-in-law Maxine and Harry Griffith; sister and brother-in-law Shirley and Dante Porretti; sister and brother-in-law Delores and Stanley Watson; son-in-law Michael Lieberman; and an untold number of pets who enriched Wayne’s life through the years.
Wayne is survived by his loving wife, Shirley, of the home; son Mark Johnson (Diane) of Strafford, MO.; daughter Beverly Lieberman (Mike Bennett) of Paola, KS.; daughter Terri Johnson of the home; son Deron Johnson (Walter Bass) of Lenexa, KS.; granddaughter Carmen (Lieberman) Lewis (Mike) of Osawatomie, KS.; granddaughter Melissa (Johnson) Kotowicz (Scott) of Springfield, MO.; granddaughter Sarah (Lieberman) Wobker (Bo) of Paola, KS.; grandson Cameron Lieberman of Mission, KS.; numerous nieces, nephews, and great-grandchildren; cherished family friend Lisa Deichler of Overland Park, KS.; and longtime canine companion Milo.
A visitation will be held from noon-1 p.m., Friday, December 9, 2022, at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Mo., 64131, followed by a celebration of life funeral service from 1-2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the American Cancer Society or the Miami County (Kansas) Historical Society.
