Michael Joseph Johnston

In the small hours of Tuesday, May 23, 2023, Michael Joseph Johnston Sr. passed away at the age of 72.  He was a loving husband and father to 5 children.

He was born in St. Paul, MN in 1950 to Muriel and William (Jim) Johnston.  He was the youngest of 7 children with 2 sisters and 4 brothers.  Mike is survived by all but one brother.  He graduated from Bishop Blanchet High School in 1969.  He was married to Sue Nelson soon after and had 2 sons, Michael J Jr. and Jeremy C (Vanessa).  In 1982, he was married to Terilyn Knight, who also had a son, Matthew N Gilbertson (Christine).  Together, they had 2 daughters, Jennifer A Tompkins (Devin), and Heather M Johnston.  Between all 5, he had 6 grandchildren.  There are 3 girls, Ariel, Layla, and Allison along with 3 boys, Sabastian, Aidan, and Kadence. 

He loved his “yours, mine, and ours” family and would often tell folks that he had 4 children and his wife had 3. That is strictly true, with the girls being counted twice.  Mike and Teri just recently celebrated 41 years of marriage.

Mike loved the outdoors.  He served on the Catholic Committee on Scouting where he spent many summer vacations as an adult volunteer with Boy Scout work parties.  He was also involved as an assistant site manager of a mountain lodge property belonging to the Totem Girl Scout Council.  He was an avid deer hunter and fisher, though all but one deer outsmarted him.  Roaming the woods with his brother and their sons was his favorite pastime.  All the family vacations were spent camping, even when the girls were very little.  His retirement dream was to camp and explore without having to worry about work schedules.  The pandemic put much of that on pause.

Mike worked as a warehouse manager in the wholesale flooring industry, as did his wife Teri.  He spent nearly 35 years in that industry.  He also worked in the HVAC industry until he retired in 2018.  He is preceded in death by his father, Jim, and his mother, Muriel, along with his oldest brother, “Jimmy”.  He is survived by his sisters, Carol and MaryClaire, and his brothers, Paul, Greg, and Bob.  He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and their children.

A private memorial service is being held at Edline-Yahn & Covington Funeral Chapel on Wednesday, June 7th at 2 PM.   A Celebration of Life (or good old fashioned Irish wake) is being planned at the family home closer to his August birthday.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Washington Wildlife First (wawildlifefirst.org) in his name.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Michael Joseph Johnston, please visit our floral store.