Harold James Johnson's Obituary
Harold James (Jim) Johnson passed away peacefully surrounded by family in his La Jolla home at the age of 92 following a brief and courageous battle with cancer.
Born in Santa Barbara in 1930 to parents Walter and Olive (Hiller) Johnson, Jim was one of five children. The family moved to Santa Maria when Jim was five where he grew up in what he described as an idyllic childhood, with loving parents and where church was an important part of family life. An avid music lover and car enthusiast, Jim played saxophone with his band at local church and community events and enjoyed working on his car in his spare time. One of his favorite cars in college was his convertible 1949 Mercury!
Jim was activated from the National Guard into the Army in 1950 for the Korean War and was stationed for a year in Japan with the special services, where he continued his love of music and spent his time playing saxophone in the Army Band performing in concerts, a weekly radio show and playing for special events. After being discharged from the Army, he finished his education at San Diego State, from which he graduated with a degree in music and minor in business. It was in a choir class where he met and fell in love with Florence Fox of Pacific Beach, and shortly after graduation, Jim and Florence were married. They later adopted five children and raised them in La Jolla. Their house was often filled with music and was the center of activity for both the kids and their friends as well as extended family.
Jim pursued a career in retail management, working for Longs Drug Store for over 40 years, where he was respected and loved by his colleagues. Florence had a career in education and was the founding principal of the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts where she worked until she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Jim retired in 1996 to care for Florence during the last year of her life.
Jim enjoyed spending time with family, playing tennis, skiing, woodworking, reading and doing crossword puzzles. He was a lifelong supporter of SDSU Aztec Football and Padres baseball. A favorite way he liked to spend his day was working on one woodworking project or another in his garage while listening to Eddy Arnold on his 8 track player, which is still in use today!
Jim was lucky in love twice. He met Kathy Baumann through a mutual friend and they hit it off immediately. They spent nearly 24 loving years together and enjoyed traveling, working on home improvement projects, and most importantly, spending time with family. They were married on the beach in Santa Barbara, one of their favorite places to spend time.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents and first wife, Florence, son Jim (JJ), as well as his sister June, and brothers Bill, Dan and Ron. He is survived by his wife, Kathy, daughter Lynn(Jeffrey), and sons Chris(Hillary), Garett(Marissa) and Gary, and grandchildren Natasha, Jesse, Tyler, Mikaela, Jace, Zane, Gary Jr, sisters-in-law Alyce Fox and Mary Johnson, brother-in-law John Roszell, and Kathy’s children Kandi(David), Willie(Susan), Rio(Talia) and Bob(Stormi), grandchildren Kyrra, Cade, Trevor, Ryan, Maggie.
Please consider a donation in Jim’s name to the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. To donate, please use this link: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/foscpadonation
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