Robert B. Johnson

July 23, 2014

Service Details

Robert B. Johnson (Bob), 87, died peacefully July 23, 2014 at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.

Bob was born in Albia on June 19, 1927 to Bernhard and Myrtle Johnson. He would say he had a poor dirt farmer upbringing as a child. He joined the Navy in 1945 at the age of 17 and served proudly in the Philippines until 1946. After his service discharge, Bob pursued electronics schooling in Des Moines where he would eventually start his life long career as the owner of Ajax TV service for 54 years, retiring in 2007. He also met the love of his life Margaret (Maggie) Cameron while in Des Moines and married in August of 1948.

His early adulthood found him immersed in raising his family of five children, running his TV service, and pursuing his passion of drag racing. Introduced to the sport in 1956, “The Garage” became the center of the universe not just for Bob but for many other friends and family members for years. He also managed the Des Moines Dragway from 1962 to 1967, and the Humbolt Dragway from 1967 to 1970.

Beyond the racing years, Bob would surround himself with family in the pursuit of many different activities of great interest like playing cards, boating, fishing, golfing, and tinkering around the house. His travels always involved family in some way and included many trips to the sunny state of California, family vacations to places such as Niagara Falls, the depths of the Grand Canyon, and Hawaii with Pearl Harbor.

In recent years Bob suffered from dementia and developed fibrosis which would mark his time on earth. Everyone whose life he touched will remember Bob as a kind man with a great sense of humor, propensity for fun, and for his desire to learn and knack for applying his creative bent. It was all his comrades in the garage, people he worked alongside, and family members that kept his spirits flying –in more than one sense of the word.

He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Margaret; four sons, Robyn B. (Debi), Kevin C. (Rhonda), Mark A. (Souane), and Douglas L. (Beverly) ; one daughter, Julie A.; sister, Teckla (Ron) Miller; grandchildren, Hailey, Jakob (Natalie), Kelsey, Leah, Jessica, Cody, Matthew, Cameron, Allison, Stefanie and Heather; great-grandchildren, Tapanga, Keeley, Madison and Dalton.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Gilbert, Carl and Cloyd; and sister, Lynette Aldrich.

A funeral service will be held at noon on August 9, 2014 at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway. A visitation will occur two hours prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will take place at 9:30 AM, Monday, August 11, 2014 at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery.

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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