The Johnson Boys

The End Of A Chapter

My uncle passed away last week. He was near 80 years old and passed away in hospice care. I went to see him a few days before he died, becuase he was that last link with my past.

My father was born and raised in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Rumor has it that my great grandfather came out to Iowa in a covered wagon when there were still roaming bands of Native Americans for settlers to contend with. My dad was part of a large family, four sons and two daughters. My uncle was the last of them. With his passing that whole generation is gone.

I never really knew my two aunts. One may still be living up in Oregon, the other died some years ago of cancer. But my father and his brothers I recall very well. They were all unique individuals, but you could tell they were all related. They had the same mannerisms, the same stoic work eithic, the same low key sense of humor.

When my father passed away in 2005 it was hard. I could not have asked for a better parent. He had his flaws, we all do. But they were very few and far between.

Whenever I saw my uncle Dennis, he always reminded me of my father. That linage was there, those mannerism. He was a living reminder of all the good things that the Johnson boys were during their lives. And now he is gone as well and there aren't any more.

Historians say that theirs was the greatest generation, and they are probably right. Not so much for the great deeds they accomplished, or the wars they won, but for the little things that they did on a daily basis, that in the long run, made me and all my cousins what we are today. They gave us a mighty foundation.

I really miss all of them.