Obituary of Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson, 82, passed away peacefully on November 8, 2023 of natural causes. He was born to Eugene and Nellie Johnson, on November 30. 1940 in Joplin, Missouri. He moved to California in 1947 and graduated from Lodi High School in 1959.

In November of 1957, he met his wife-to-be LeAnn Ochsner. They were married in June of 1960 (they celebrated 63 years). They had 3 children.

Jack was an automotive partsman for 23 years, Owned J&O Video for 15 years, and drove Dial-a-Ride for 11 years. He was a deacon at the Church of Christ in N Camanche. He was a docent at the SJ Historical Museum for 10 years. He was a member of SIRS for many years after retirement.

Jack is survived by his wife, LeAnn, daughter Tammy (Ray) Ellsworth of Greenwood Ca; John (Heidi) Johnson of Incline Village NV; and daughter Jackie (James) Farmer of anywhere their fifth wheel stops; six grandchildren: Christopher “CJ” (Sidra) Suess; Kai Ellsworth; Kyle (Anna) Suess; Madi (Matt) Stiemann; Hayden Johnson, and Reese Farmer; three great-grandchildren: Saliha Suess, Aiza Suess, and Rio Suess. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Bobbie, and his sister Sandra.

A Celebration of Life will be held on November 20, 2023 at noon at the Lodi Moose Lodge, 3824 E Woodbridge Rd, in Acampo. Please wear your favorite Hawaiian shirt, since Kauai, Hawaii was his happy place.

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the American Cancer Society or your favorite charity.

From the Lodi News Sentinel in 1998:

In his jacket pockets, Jack Johnson keeps crumpled pieces of paper. They are handwritten love and religion poems that he started writing just at age 66. As a Lodi High School student, Johnson hated poetry.

He laughed about the year he couldn't make himself remember "Little Boy Blue" that was written on a blackboard in the classroom.

Most of his poems are short details of his love and religious beliefs, but he has also started documenting his memoir in the form of poetry.