Obituary of J. Norman Johnson

J. Norman Johnson, DDS, a lifelong resident of Jamestown, died peacefully at home on February 24, 2012. He was ninety-one years old. Born July 26, 1920, Dr. Johnson was the son of Jonas E. Johnson and Anna Matilda Anderson Johnson, who immigrated to Jamestown from Sweden. A graduate of Jamestown High School, Norm enlisted in the army in 1943. After training in the Signal Corp at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, Captain Johnson served in the 82nd Airborne Division; he was involved in the allied invasion of Europe and the liberation of a concentration camp. At the close of the war, his division occupied the American sector of Berlin. Norm attended Hiram College before graduating from Western Reserve Dental School. He was a member of the American Dental Association. Dr. Johnson practiced dentistry in Jamestown for forty-four years, retiring in 1995. Norm was a member of the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club where he raced E-Scows for twenty-six years. He served on the Board of Directors and also as Commodore in 1960-61. Norm was also a member of the Jamestown Skeet Club and competed in the winter skeet league. He was a member of the Jamestown Rotary Club for 25 years. An avid duck hunter and fisherman, Norm spent his vacation time with family and friends on Mud Island and Wolfe Island in the Thousand Islands, Canada. He also traveled to fish and boat in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, and Chincoteague Island, Virginia. Norm was an accomplished woodworker, creating extraordinary pieces of furniture in his basement shop for his large family. He is survived by his wife of sixty-eighty years, Alice "Ozzie" Johnson; his sons, Jonas T. Johnson and his wife Janis Carnahan Johnson, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and their three sons Olin, Rurik, and Ivar; his son David N. Johnson and his wife Patricia Garfield Johnson of Buffalo, New York, and their three sons Damien, Tullis, and Lukas; his daughter Elizabeth Johnson and her husband Philip K. Jensen of Orinda, California; and his son Erik H. Johnson and his wife Robin Fenstemaker Johnson of Toms River, New Jersey, and their two sons Clayton and Reed. Dr. Johnson had five great grandchildren: Luke, Shane, Grady, Juliet and Jonas. Following an interment at the Lake View Cemetery at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 3rd, a celebration of the life of Dr. Johnson will be held at the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Friends are welcome. Contributions in memory of Dr. Johnson may be directed to the charity of your choice or to the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, 418 Spring Street, Jamestown, New York 14701, or Hospice of Chautauqua County, 20 W. Fairmount Ave., Lakewood, New York 14750.