Earl Johnson

Earl LeRoy Johnson, 92, formerly of Bettendorf, Iowa, passed away on Thursday, October 25, 2018 at Friendship Manor in Rock Island, Illinois.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 2 at Bettendorf Christian Church.  Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until service time at the church.  Burial will be in Davenport Memorial Park.

Earl was born June 5, 1926 in Tama County, Iowa, the son of Eschel & Helen (Lane) Johnson.  He grew up in Galesburg, Illinois, graduated from Galesburg High School and joined the United States Navy in 1944.  He was in the Pacific Theater on the USS Amphibious Transport, USS Queens, APA 103 until the end of WWII.  He was privileged to go to Washington DC with the Honor Flight.

He was united in marriage to Irene Day in 1947 and they moved to Davenport, Iowa.  She preceded him in death in 1993.  He was united in marriage to Patricia A. Chance-Johnson on October 10, 1994.  She preceded him in death on August 14, 2015.

Earl worked in the trucking business for 34 years, retiring from Great River Bend Transit in 1991.  He was a musician all his life; playing first the clarinet, later the guitar and tenor sax by ear.  He played for dance bands out of Galesburg but his last gig was sax man for The Silver Tones of the Quad-Cities.  He was a member of Bettendorf Christian Church for over 40 years.  He cherished his church family.

Those left to honor his memory include his step-children, Marsha Johnson, Dayle (Jim) Leach and Hugh (Carol) Johnson and their families; his niece, Debbie (Dave) Baker; his cousin, Sally Johnson Tiessen, his nephews, Marty (Anita), Rick, Gary (Sherry) and Denny (Susan) Gaede and their families.

In addition to his wives, Earl was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Shirley Johnson; his brother Frank; his sister-in-law, Esther; his uncles, Ken Lane and Fred Johnson; and his aunt, Ruth Zimmerman.

Memorials may be directed to Bettendorf Christian Church.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting Earl’s obituary at www.McGinnis-Chambers.com.