Benjamin Paul William Johnson, 62, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, in Seattle following a short battle with cancer. He was born in Winthrop on March 26, 1954, the third child of Frank and Dorothy Johnson. He was delivered by Emy Hallowell at her old place where the high school is now; she delighted in telling his wife and kids “I delivered Benny, you know!” whenever she saw them.
Ben attended school in Seattle and spent summers helping at the family place at Big Twin Lake. He worked as a logger and wildlands firefighter before starting a long career in the construction industry. He worked as a blaster, heavy equipment operator and superintendent before retiring early this year. His adventurous nature took him on some interesting bends in the road. He worked on the Alaska oil pipeline, pioneered roads in a logging camp in a remote part of southeast Alaska for three years, spent two seasons working in Antarctica, and supervised a large gold mining operation in Nevada for a year.
After his father passed in 1995, he took on the responsibility of keeping the family campground at Big Twin Lake operating, while simultaneously raising a family and maintaining a full-time career. He was an accomplished mechanic, and liked to work on old cars and motorcycles. He enjoyed dirt biking and snowmobiling with his family.
He will be greatly missed by his wife of 33 years, Loree Johnson, daughters Erinn Buckner and Jessica Johnson-Zapata (Adam), son Logan, granddaughter Hannah Buckner, and grandson Benjamin Zapata. He is further survived by sisters Kathy Corrigan (Mike), Jeanne Johnson, and Joanne Johnson, and by a brother, Lynn Johnson, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
At his request an informal celebration of life will be held at Big Twin Lake Campground in the spring.
