Covenant News

Memorial Service Saturday for J. Eldon Johnson

BATAVIA, IL (May 16, 2003) - A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Evangelical Covenant Church of Batavia for retired Covenant pastor J. Eldon Johnson, who died Tuesday morning at The Holmstad. Mark Nilson, church pastor, will officiate.

A graveside service will be conducted on Monday at Riverside Cemetery in Moline. The 80-year-old Johnson lived at The Holmstad for many years, having served as a chaplain at the Michealson Health Center for a time beginning in 1984.

Born February 8, 1923, in Pomeroy, Iowa, Johnson was the son of a Covenant pastor, August Johnson. After growing up in Rosedale Covenant Church near Bristow, Nebraska, Johnson earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska, after spending two years at North Park Junior College in Chicago. He attended North Park Theological Seminary and earned his diploma in 1949, adding a Master of Divinity degree with an emphasis in biblical theology in 1960. He became an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church in 1951.

During seminary, Johnson served as an interim pastor at three churches before being called to First Covenant Church in San Jose, California, in 1949. Six years later, he returned to Chicago and served the Austin Evangelical Covenant Church from 1955-1964. He later served Covenant congregations in McPherson, Kansas; Bowie, Maryland; and Evanston, Illinois, before becoming a chaplain in Batavia.

Holmstad chaplain Larry Dieckman said that Johnson's love of words, his preaching skills and his sense of humor were notable. He enjoyed hooking rugs - his work was often displayed at the facility - and his ability to read Swedish came in handy when friends needed someone to translate a letter from "the old country." However, Dieckman observed, "the church was his life. It was a high priority."

Johnson is survived by a daughter, Marsha (James) Harrison of Phoenix, Arizona, and was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie, and by his infant son, Roger. Memorials in his name may be directed to The Good Samaritan Fund in care of The Holmstad, 700 W. Fabyan Parkway, Batavia, IL, 60510.

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