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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.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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