Dennis Leroy Johnson

~ POPPY ~

2/25/31 — 8/1/24

Dennis Leroy Johnson was born on February 25, 1931 in Turlock, California and died August 1, 2024 at home in Roseville, California.

He was a loving husband to Sally Ann Johnson; married 68 years. He married his sweetheart June 9, 1956 and began raising a family in Cupertino and then moved to San Jose in 1966. Dennis was a dedicated father to Wendy, Julie, Steve, Lori, Tracy and Todd and grandfather to 15 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Dennis was father-in-law and friend to Carlos Alcaine (Julie), Pamela Johnson (Steve), John Copeland (Lori), Patrick Clark (Tracy) and Kelly Johnson (Todd). Loving brother to his sister, Barbara and brother-in-law, Bill Ekstrom and his niece and nephew, Janet and Scott Ekstrom.

Dennis was faithful to his Lord, attending and serving for many years at Apostles Lutheran of San Jose. He loved his time there, serving as usher, elder, builder and friend. He had a career of procurement at Westinghouse, working mainly on Navy contracts. He would humbly describe his position as simply “buyer”. He served in the US Navy aboard the Spikefish submarine. He was very patriotic and the American flag was hung at every national holiday! Dennis loved the outdoors, be it camping, hiking, gardening, he was most at home in the fresh air. He would often recount his memories of hiking in the Sierras when he was a young man. He introduced his boys to backpacking and took the family camping every year. Much of his love for the outdoors can now be seen in his kids and grandkids. He was gifted with an engineer’s mind and a wood craftsman’s skill. Designing, inventing, building, tinkering, fixing was his passion. He was an avid reader of history.

By far his biggest smiles came at family gatherings of his kids and grandkids. He also loved his extended family and one of his all-time favorite events of the year would be the annual Family Picnic in Modesto and later Sacramento. He loved catching up with his cousins and extended Johnson, Barmore, Ronk, etal families!

We are grateful that he was able to be home with his bride, Sally, when he passed. We miss him dearly but he is currently gathered with loved ones that went before him to be with Christ, his Lord.

Memorial Services will be private for our family.