Lloyd O. Johnson

Sioux Falls – Funeral services for Lloyd O. Johnson, 85, will be at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 3, 2009 at West Nidaros Lutheran Church near Crooks. There will be no visitation. Arrangements are in the care of Minnehaha Funeral Home, Baltic.

Lloyd was born March 19, 1923 to Miles and Clara (Christensen) Johnson. He married Robinette “Bobbie” (Thompson) Johnson in 1949 and the couple farmed in the Crooks area. Lloyd served in the US Army in the European theater with field artillery from 1943-1946. He played baseball professionally in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, and also played with the Sioux Falls Canaries, the Renner Monarchs and American Legion baseball. He worked for Adidas sporting goods in the 1970s, a job that brought him in regular contact with international sports celebrities. He was a great baseball fan and enjoyed all sports, travel, reading and his many friends.

Survivors include his daughters, Julie (Darwin) Dirks of Le Mars, Iowa, and Jan Johnson, Portland, Oregon; his brothers Gene (Doris) Johnson, Woodbury, Minn., and Wally (Doris) Johnson, Sioux Falls; his brother-in-law, Doug Thompson, Fontana, Calif.; his sister-in-law, Bev Gerardi, Windsor, Conn., and many dear friends and extended family, including Van (Sue) Brust, Staunton, Va., who he raised as a son.

His wife preceded him in death in October 2008. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to West Nidaros Youth Activities, the Crooks branch of Siouxland Libraries and McCrossan Boys Ranch.