Earl Dewey Johnson, Jr., AKA, "E. Dewey," died January 19, 2011 at the Clairemont Nursing home in Eau Claire, WI. E. Dewey is survived by his wife of 54 years, Verna Johnson and as he proudly referred to them, his "four beautiful daughters:" Lori Johnson (Lars Runquist) of Inver Grove Heights, MN, Trudy Claassen (Don) of Cedar Rapids, IA, Joni Kristo (Tom) of Sewickley, PA and Cari Johnson (Andrew Toutant) of Minneapolis, MN, his nine grandchildren: Karsten Runquist, Elsa Runquist, Sam Claassen, Max Claassen, Grace Claassen, Charlie Kristo, Anna Kristo, Drew Toutant and Simon Toutant. He is also survived by a sister, Betty Gelner of Burnsville, MN and sister-in-law's Velma (Ted) Bunne and Deb (Cal) Wedmore. E. Dewey was preceded in death by his father, Earl Dewey Johnson, his mother, Marie Shively Johnson and his beloved sister, Shirley Beyer. E. Dewey was born April 7, l926 in Mankato, MN and lived in several small towns in Southern Minnesota throughout his childhood. He lost his vision in one eye at the age of 5 from a firecracker mishap but never let it slow him down. Upon graduation, he joined the Merchant Marines and spent most of his enlistment in the South Pacific until WWII ended in l945. He briefly attended South Dakota State College in Brookings, South Dakota and went on to hold various sales positions until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in l950 where he was eventually stationed at Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, CA. After serving his military time in the Korean War, he returned to Minnesota and attended Mankato State University graduating in l957 with a B.S. in Economics and Sociology. During this time he met the love of his life, Verna Loeffler. They married September l, l956 and moved to Duluth, MN. They spent two years in Duluth and relocated to Eau Claire, WI in 1959 where shortly after Dewey was hired as Regional Sales Manager with the Maytag Co. Dewey loved his company and its products and as a result achieved numerous outstanding sales, marketing and advertising awards until he retired in 1993. Even after Dewey's retirement, he longed for the days when he could pitch a new line or create a new marketing program. In Dewey's free time he enjoyed fishing in Northern Minnesota with his "Maytag guys," cross country skiing along the St. Croix, golfing at Hillcrest Country Club, traveling with his wife, drinking a "good scotch" with his daughters and marveling at his grandchildren. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 5:00 p.m. at Newman Parish, at the Ecumenical Religious Center in Eau Claire, WI on Monday, January 24, 2011. Friends may call before the service, from 3 PM - 5 PM, at the church. Interment will be held at Fort Snelling Cemetary in Minneapolis, MN at a later date. To express condolences online, please visit obituaries at www.lenmarkfh.com. The Johnson family wants to give a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful, caring staff at the Clairemont Nursing Home-Memory Lane. Memorials may be sent in E. Dewey's name to the Alzheimer's Association, Greater Wisconsin Chapter, 2900 Curry Lane, Suite A, Green Bay, WI 54311 or to the University of Iowa Children's Hospital, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242 directed to Childhood Brain Tumor Research.

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