Covenant News

Services Held for Martin Johnson 'A Man of Three Centuries'

ESSEX, IA (August 21, 2003) - Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon for Martin Johnson of Faith Evangelical Covenant Church of Essex. Johnson, the oldest living person in Iowa and the oldest known Covenanter, died last Saturday at a Shenandoah care center where he had been for the past six weeks, said his son Wayne. Covenant minister David Carlson officiated the ceremony as family and friends celebrated a life that spanned 108 years and eight months. In a news story about his passing the Omaha World-Hearld called him "a man of three centuries."

Born December 16, 1894, to Otto and Ida Johnson, Martin Johnson was the oldest of six children. He was confirmed in 1910 in the Fremont Covenant Church near Essex, and as a child, his family traveled to church in an open horse-drawn lumber wagon. A lifelong member of the farming community, Johnson was known for judging corn in 4-H competitions, even winning a state championship. He married Irene Peterson, a schoolteacher he knew his whole life, on July 2, 1919. Irene died in 1979, just prior to their 60th wedding anniversary.

A former president of the Iowa State Grain and Feed Association and a member of the Essex Community school board and Shenandoah Rotary, Johnson co-owned Johnson Bros. Mills with two brothers and stayed active in the business well into his 90s, according to the Omaha World-Herald. In fact, he kept track of grain prices by using the Internet daily.

Given that he witnessed his first automobile in 1903 and helped put up the first telephone poles in his region, he had a lot of other things to keep track of during his years. But friends also knew he kept track of other people - among the notations in his obituary was this phrase: "He loved to visit and never knew a stranger."

Johnson was living in a townhouse in Essex, next to the home of his son Wayne and daughter-in-law Ruth Marie, during his final years. A daughter, Phyllis Sundberg, lived a short distance away in Red Oak. He was the grandfather of seven and great grandfather to 17.

In a December 2002 Covenant Companion article by Covenant pastor, Martha Freeman, Johnson recalled being asked by a young girl why he had lived so long. "The Scripture says, 'Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days maybe long upon the earth,'" he replied. "I must've honored mine pretty good." Click here for Companion article on Martin Johnson

Memorial gifts may be sent to Faith Evangelical Covenant Church, 212 Alice Street, Essex, IA 51638.

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