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Claud Leslie (Les) Johnson was born in Taylors Falls in 1925 and grew up in Shafer, Minnesota where he was the youngest of five children.  He walked through a wooded lot to the Shafer elementary school and later attended Chi-Hi where he played basketball and 6-man football.  To make ends meet during The Depression, Les’s family raised guinea pigs in their basement and would sell the ‘pigs’ to the University of Minnesota. 

Les fell in love with Lillian Bloom when he heard her sing with the Junior Mission Band of Center City’s Lutheran Church.  Les saw stars when Lillian sat next to him in the back seat of the bus going to High School basketball games.  Les’s mom rode in the front of the same bus, as a chaperone.

During World War II, Les enlisted in the Navy and he loved it.  He appreciated the structure and three square meals a day.  It was where Les learned to fly airplanes, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Darrel   But Les experienced tragedy, when Darrell was killed while serving on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. 

In 1945 near the end of the war, while Les was stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas,  Lillian took the train from Minnesota to visit Les. They got married with three people in attendance, in addition to the pastor and his wife, who played the organ.  Les was under-age and had to call his mother in Shafer to get permission to get married, which was enthusiastically granted.

Sorrow struck again when Les and Lil’s first child was born with Down’s syndrome.   But Gregory brought joy to their hearts with his affectionate nature and his energetic dancing.  Gregory turned heads with his robust singing of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. Les and Lil went on to have four more children, 13 grandchildren, and over 20 great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, with more on the way.

After the war Les continued flying, doing some crop dusting in Montana.  In 1950 Les signed on with Northwest Airlines.  In those early days, Les was laid off every winter when the airline suspended operation.  One of Les’s early flights was to Tokyo, Japan.  Les would fly a DC-4 with three stops for re-fueling.  The stops were Edmonton, Anchorage, and Shimya, an Aleutian island. In his later career, he flew 747s to Tokyo and beyond. Les took a temporary position flying for Olympic Airlines and lived with Lil and the youngest children for a short time in Athens, Greece.  In 1975, Les’s flying career was interrupted when he had a stroke while flying a plane home from Chicago.  Eventually, Les was able to rejoin the airline when he recovered from the stroke.

After retirement, Les bought an Aeronca airplane that had two seats and a top speed of 80 mph.  Les kept it at the airport in Osceola, Wisconsin.

Les was preceded in death by his parents and four siblings, his wife Lillian, and son, Gregory.  He is survived by son, Steve (wife Jerri), son Daniel (wife, Susan), daughter Susan Ewert (husband James), and daughter Jennifer Munger (husband, Scott).

Les has always had a strong faith and has trusted in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Because of his faith in Christ, he has always been active in church activities and loved to study the Bible. Les has entered into the arms of Jesus.

Funeral Service 10 a.m. Saturday, April 15, 2023 at Lakes Free Church in Lindstrom, MN.  A visitation will be held from 4– 7 p.m. Friday at Grandstrand Funeral Home in Lindstrom, and, one hour prior to the service at church on Saturday.  Interment will be at Chisago Lake Cemetery in Center City, MN.

 Condolences may be expressed online at www.grandstrandfh.com. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Les Johnson can be sent to Wycliffe Bible Translators, P.O. Box 628200, Orlando, FL 32862

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