Gregory Leonard Johnson

February 6, 1948 – April 14, 2021

With great sadness we announce the sudden passing of our husband, brother, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Greg L. Johnson, 73. Greg was born February 6, 1948 in Waukegan, Illinois to

Edmund and Eleanor Johnson.

In 1955 Greg, his brother Fred and parents Ed and

Eleanor Johnson moved to Lake Villa, Illinois. He graduated from Antioch (IL) High School.

In 1967 Greg moved to Antioch, Illinois where he started a family and began working at Outboard

Marine Corporation-Johnson Motors. Here he took advanced engineering classes that enhanced his lifelong love of tinkering with motors. His favorite work assignment was test-driving, in which his mission was to take a boat out on Lake Michigan and try to break it. Thanks to the influence of his Dad and his Uncle Paul Johnson, he loved working on cars, trucks and boats and bought, sold and traded too many to count throughout his life.

He also volunteered on the Antioch Fire Dept, where he was a scuba diver on the Search & Rescue team.

Greg was also very close to Glen Pierce, his father-in-law, who was a millwright and maintenance engineer with many skills and talents. Glen advised and assisted Greg when he built his first family home in Antioch at the age of 21, and taught him a lot about home maintenance and life in general. They had a lifelong friendship.

Greg started working in the fastener industry after leaving OMC and was a skilled machine operator/machinist, being shop supervisor at large manufacturing facilities in Illinois and Florida, where he moved with his family in 1978.

Greg made an annual visit to his brother Fred in Scottsdale and loved it here. After raising his children in Florida, Greg found a job in Phoenix and moved to the Valley in 1991. He visited Warsaw Wally’s, a local watering hole, one evening and asked the woman sitting next to him if she wanted to dance. The woman said yes, this was Mary Boston, and they danced together the rest of his life. They shared a love of road trips, and traveled to visit family in Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida and Alabama. Stops in small towns along the way were the best part. They also traveled and camped all over Arizona, loved visiting Bisbee and had a special camping spot on the Mogollon Rim.

Greg ended his working career by owning a local handyman business. In his business, he was happy to help elderly people and lowered his price substantially for them. Everyone knew that they could rely on him for help or conversation at any time.

Greg had a quick wit and a very sharp memory. He loved to party and dance and was a jokester with a wry sense of humor. He was kind and generous to every person he met, helping neighbor, friend or anyone at the drop of a hat. He was the dad all kids wanted to have, his children remember him as the “funnest” dad who was always there when they needed him, with a smile and kind words. He loved sports, especially baseball and the Cubs. Spring training was a special time for him and Mary as their anniversary is in March and a game always figured into the celebration. Greg lived his life to the fullest and, as Frank Sinatra says, did it HIS way.

Greg was preceded in death by his parents and numerous Aunts and Uncles. He is survived by his wife Mary Boston, brother Fred Johnson (Kathie) of Scottsdale, son Doug Johnson (Diane) of Scottsdale, daughter Kathleen Johnson of Satellite Beach, Florida, granddaughters Jessica Johnson and Alyssa Saweress (Romina) and two great grandsons, Gage Johnson and Oliver Saweress.

The family will have a private service. If you wish to make a donation in Greg’s name, please make it to your favorite charity; otherwise, smile and raise a toast in his memory.