OWEN JOHNSON

1924-2020

Owen William Johnson, age 96, of Houston, Texas passed away on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. Owen was born June 28, 1924 in Detroit, Michigan to parents, William and Ethel Johnson.

He is survived by son Dennis Johnson (Cathy); son Mark Johnson; daughter Lisa Johnson Garrett (Bob); son Kevin Johnson; and daughter Sandy Johnson Bohlen (Mike); and eleven grandchildren.

Owen was preceded in death by his wife, Jean Evelyn Ellis, who passed in December of 1992. They married in Houston, Texas on July 7, 1945.

He attended high school at Plymouth High School in Plymouth, Michigan. He later went on to graduate from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1952.

Owen enlisted with the Army Air Corp on July 4, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan and became a Navigator. His preflight training was done at the Air Force Base. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in August of 1943 and was assigned to Seattle, Washington. He then went to New York, and then Thurleigh, England with the 367th Squadron of the 306 Bomb Group. Owen was shot down in a mission to Kiel, Germany and was held as a POW for sixteen months at Stalag Luft I prison camp. In June of 1945, he was released from the prison camp at the end of World War II. He was then transferred to LeHarve, France and reassigned to Ellington Field. Owen was released from active duty. In the Korean War in 1951, he was a Navigation Flight Instructor stationed at Ellington Field until the war ended. He resigned from the Reserves in 1953 as a First Lieutenant to raise his children.

Owen taught Metal Shop one year at Jeff Davis High School in 1953. Owen then went into Fire Protection and was employed by Texas Automatic Sprinklers as a District Manager. He began in Sales, Branch Manager and then was District Manager and was employed by them for 30 years. He was self employed as a Fire Protection Consultation for 25 years.

His hobbies were golfing, and he was a member of Oak Forest Baptist Church, became a deacon in 1964, and taught Bible classes.

A private graveside ceremony will take place with Owen’s family.