Robert Johnson

Robert Donald Johnson

February 28, 1954 – November 7, 2026

Bob was born to Robert and Betty Johnson and grew up in St. Paul, MN. They lived on a houseboat for some of his upbringing before his family moved to 7th St. and Johnson Pkwy. in St. Paul. He grew up as one of the middle children of 11 brothers and sisters. With limited sleeping space of three or so beds, the kids would try to finish supper and get to bed as quickly as possible to claim a spot. He moved out at 16 and got a job at One Hour Martinizing, pressing shirts and suits. During this time, a friend of his had a 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 and let him drive it whenever he wanted, cementing his lifelong love of cars. His next job was at Metal Coat Grease and Oil, making antifreeze, grease, and oil. He eventually became the manager, with 60 guys under his watch. When that business closed, they offered to pay for him to get educated in another career path, and he chose to become an auto mechanic. He then attended Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount.

Lynn Johnson and Bob Johnson joined in marriage and welcomed two daughters, Stefny in 1973 and Kari in 1976. Their marriage did not last, and they later divorced.

He married Karen in 1982. They adopted Kyle in 1990, and Karlee was born in 1996 and adopted in 1997. Karen and Bob lived south of Hastings, MN, on their 20 acres in the country, where Bob had his own mechanic shop, Johnson Automotive, and worked on other people's cars as well as restoring classic cars. Bob and Karen did a lot of traveling and took many cruises together. The places they visited included the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Hawaii, and Alaska, as well as Canadian fishing trips. They also drove all the way down to Florida with the camper to take the kids to Disney World. Bob loved fishing, and during his time with Karen, the whole family would go to their seasonal cabin in Chetek, WI, on weekends and fish in the mornings until lunch. They were married until 2015.

Bob shared his love of mechanics and working on cars with Stefny and Kyle. Both of them spent a lot of time with Bob working in the garage, repairing and building cars. Stefny even went on to attend mechanic school and earned her Auto Body Technician Certificate to spend more time working on cars with Bob. Bob and Kyle had a love for motorcycles and would ride together and helped work on each other's bikes. Bob's ride of choice was his Harley-Davidson motorcycles. When she was a little girl, Karlee used to make believe that she was the secretary of Johnson Automotive, pretending to make appointments, typing up notes, answering the phone, and trying to sell pop and fruit to some of his customers. Bob would always make sure all his children's vehicles were in working order and helped make sure they had a safe way to travel.

Bob traveled around quite a bit after his divorce. He lived in Georgia for a while in his own house in the Blue Ridge Mountains, came back to MN and stayed at the Chetek cabin, and lived in Mora, MN, and Colorado with his sister Sue. He then headed back down to Georgia—further south this time, near Pembroke—living in a fifth-wheel trailer on his buddy Andy's land. His final home was in Buckman, MN, where he parked his fifth wheel behind Kyle and Gjertine's house.

He loved the Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia and always longed to return there. When he was in Blue Ridge, GA, he met his buddy Andy, and they did all kinds of jobs together, from logging and hauling things to different states to construction, remodeling, and maintenance work. He also loved riding his Harleys in Georgia through the mountains and enjoying all the views, twists, and turns they provided.

Bob had a strong love of Jesus and loved to share his testimony about how Jesus had saved him and worked miracles in his life, time and time again—both with his heart and with his survival in numerous car and motorcycle accidents.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Betty Vada Nelson and Robert Oscar Johnson, as well as his brother Billy and sisters Cherrie and Linda.

He is survived by his siblings Roger, Barb, Debbie, Janet, Susan, Karen, and David.

He is also survived by all four of his children: Stefny, Kari, Kyle, and Karlee.

And his many grandchildren, including Letrice, Chrishawn, Jazzmyne, Jeremiah, Gabriel, and Izabella.

There will be a time of gathering for family and friends from 2:00-4:00 P.M. on Saturday, November 15th at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service, 900 1st Street SE, Little Falls, MN 56345.

Funeral: December 28th, Fellowship Bible Church of Pierz, 12876 MN-25, Pierz, MN 56364 12:00 P.M.