Edmund Russell Johnson passed away Monday, October 1, 2018 in Tampa, Florida.
He was born on
February 26, 1931 in Toledo, Ohio. He attended Southside Grade School, Jefferson Grade School,
graduating from Washington, Indiana High in 1949. He worked at the B&O Railroad until he entered the
United States Air Force in January 1951. He married Mary Catherine (Katie) Wonder on November 10,
1951, at St. Simon’s Rectory. They dated all through high school.
He had a tour of duty in Korea from
December 1951-December 1952. He was then stationed at Westover Air Force Base (Massachusetts),
Dover Air Force Base (Delaware), and Selfridge Air Force Base (Michigan). Daughter Patti was born in
1953 and son Ed, Jr., in 1956. In 1962, the family had a three-year tour of duty at Wheelus Air Force
Base in Tripoli, Libya returning to the United States in 1965 to then be stationed at MacDill Air Force
Base (Tampa, Florida). Ed was sent to Vietnam from 1968-1969. He retired in 1971 after 20 years in the
Air Force and then was worked as a sales representative for Alert Air Conditioning & Heating in Tampa
from which he retired in 1992. In 2000, Ed and Katie built a home in Washington, Indiana, where they
lived six months of the year with the remainder in Tampa. They retired fully to Washington after Katie’s
health became too bad and Ed played the role of caregiver. It is their hometown and brought back lots
of memories from their school days.
He is survived by his daughter Patti and husband Jim Rhodes of
Lake Lure, North Carolina; son Ed and wife Wanda of Tampa; granddaughter Gwyn Rhodes of
Tallahassee; granddaughter Michele and husband Matt Miller of Tampa; granddaughter Ashley Catrett
of Temple Terrace, Florida; great grand-children Adrianne and Austin Catrett of Temple Terrace, sisters-
in-law Dottie Stellings, Patty Hopewell, and Mary Gene Johnson, all of Washington, and many special
nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death are his wife Katie, parents Leo and Helen Johnson, sister
Eleanor Dial, and brothers Bob and Cork (Leo, Jr.).
Visitation will be: Saturday, October 13, 2018 at Gill
Funeral Home, 308 E. Walnut St. Washington, IN. from 10:00 A.M. until 11:00 A.M. with Miss Yvonne
Evans officiating. Burial will be at St. John’s Cemetery, Washington, IN. with military honors presented at
graveside. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to St. John’s Cemetery, Veale Creek
Cemetery, and Oak Grove Cemetery (all in Washington, IN) and Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care
(Tampa, FL).
