Obituary for Thomas Stoddard Johnson

Dr. Thomas Stoddard Johnson, 65, passed away October 17, 2007 at McKay-Dee Hospital due to complications with pancreatitis. He was surrounded by his loving wife and family.

Tom was born December 16, 1941 in Tremonton, UT to Heber Guy and Emorett Stoddard Johnson. He graduated from Bear River High School. He married his high school sweetheart, Carol Lue Smith in the Logan LDS Temple June 26, 1964. They were blessed with 5 children and 11 grandchildren.

Tom was an active member of the LDS church. He served as a bishop twice, as well as in many other callings. He let everyone know that being Primary Pianist was his favorite and the best calling in the church. He had a great knowledge of the gospel and always shared his firm testimony.

Tom loved his profession and dedicated his professional
life to the Department of Communicative Disorders at Utah State University. The faculty and students were his "family away from family." They fondly referred to him as either “Doctor Johnson” or simply, “The King”.

Tom was a True Aggie and loved to cheer on Utah State. He loved attending gymnastic meets, and was the team’s biggest fan. After Tom lost his first wife to cancer, he was able to find love again with Kathryn (Katie) Harris of Pleasant View. They were married April 2, 2004. They loved living in St. George, and enjoyed many hobbies and loved traveling together.

Tom's greatest joy in life was his children and grandkids. He was an amazing husband, father, and grandfather. Tom always had such a great sense of humor and an awesome smile. The family would like to thank everyone for all their thoughts and prayers. They would also like to thank the knowledgeable and loving staff at McKay-Dee Hospital's ICU for their love and efforts working with Tom.

Tom is survived by his wife Kathryn and his children: Jay (Melodee), Jared (Michelle), Jann (Chad) Fawcett, Thomas (Rachel), Tailona Johnson, and the Harris children: Brett (Alicia), Chad (Angie), Brandon (Julia), Matthew (Wendy), Tyson (Karen), and Michaelene (Nathan) Kippen; a sister, Jill Cannon (Owen). He was preceded in death by his parents, first wife, Carol Lue; sisters Tess and Peggy; a brother Jack; and a granddaughter Gracie Harris.

Funeral Services will be held at 11:00am on Monday October 22, 2007 at the North Logan 13th ward chapel, 400 E. 1800 N. in North Logan. A viewing will be held Sunday October 21, 2007 at Allen-Cranney Mortuary from 6-8 and also on Monday from 9:30-10:30 at the church prior to the funeral services. Interment will be at 1 pm at the Smithfield Cemetery.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

2 PM REPORT BY KATIE

They have just gotten Tom ready for a transfer to the CAT scan. It was interesting watching the procedure. There are many tubes that need to be disconnected. They have a portable machine which they hook all of his tubes towhich are on the IV tree. To take him off of the ventalater they replace the machine with an oxygen tank which is then connected to the breathing tube. A nurse at this point hand compresses the oxygen bladder and continues to do so until he returns to his room and gets connected once again to the machine.
Tom had slid down in his bed, so a team came to assist the nurse in moving him up in his bed. To do this they lowered the head of the bed and all got on the ends of the sheets and shifted him.
They then took the brakes off of the airbed and took him to the elevator. I will stay in the waiting room until he returns and he gets the results of the test. Keep your fingers crossed and thanks for continuing your prayers.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I continue to pray for all of you and hope for the best. Halloween always makes me think of King Tom in the "crazy" costume! It surely makes me smile when I think about it. Tell him that LuAnn in the Dean's Office is keeping a watchful eye on him. God Bless,LuAnn

Anonymous said...

Thanks LuAnn,

The King Costume was always a blast! I'll see if I can find that photo sometime tonight. If I can find it, I'll post it up on the blog. :-)