Terry was born January 11, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois and was the son of John and Helen (Shealy) Johnson. He lived and went to school in Chicago and then went to Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. At Wayland Academy, Terry was on the academy honor roll each year, president of the senior class, and captain of the basketball team. Terry chose to forsake the scholarships he earned to Princeton University and the University of Chicago to serve his country and be inducted into the Navy V-12 program at age 17.
After his time in the Navy, Terry went to Princeton University. At age 21 he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Baltzer, from Dakota, Illinois. They moved to Tucson where Terry finished his degree in Economics at the University of Arizona. Terry began his career at Hughes Aircraft Company in Tucson. A man of impeccable work-ethic and integrity, he moved up in management rapidly. Transferred to California, he became part of a hand-picked team responsible for building and successfully landing the first unmanned spacecraft on the moon. This huge accomplishment was known as Surveyor 1. Surveyor 1 soft-landed on the surface of the moon near the crater Flamsteed on June 2, 1966 0617 hours GMT.
When his oldest son got accepted to Oregon State University, Terry and his wife Mary drove him up and visited the university. Terry and Mary fell in love with Oregon. Within 5 weeks after returning from that visit, they moved their family to Salem, Oregon, purposefully changing his long work-hour lifestyle so that he could spend more quality time with his wife and family. Terry became a stockbroker, and enjoyed days off fishing, camping, and exploring new places with his family. When he and his wife Mary retired, they loved traveling together extensively. In 2008, after 60 years of marriage, his beloved Mary passed away. Terry made full circle back to Tucson in 2009 to live independently in the warmth of Arizona.
Terry embraced life completely. A devoted father and husband, he brightened the room with his laugh and genuine smile. He always put others first, and had a tremendously strong will to make the best of any tough situation. He lived his life as he expected his children to- insisting on values of honor, self-reliance, integrity and personal responsibility.
Terry was preceded in death by his wife, Mary, and is survived by his oldest son, Terry M. Johnson Jr. and his wife Dana, daughter Cathleen A. Miller and her husband, Blake, and his youngest son, Keith, and his wife, Joan. Terry is also survived by his grandsons Kyle Johnson, Chris Johnson, Shawn Johnson and his wife Becky, and great-grand daughter Lindsay Johnson. Grandsons also include Blake Miller Jr., Matthew Miller, Terry Miller and his wife, Renee, and great-grand daughter Brinley Miller, and his only granddaughter, Cara Norvell, and great-grandson Connor Norvell.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 1000 Saturday March 7, 2015 at Howell, Edwards Funeral Home 1350 Commercial Street SE, Salem, Oregon
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