Jerome Jay Johnson

If you’ve ever seen a stranger waving as you passed by or stopping to introduce himself and then telling a story that never ended, that was probably our dad – Jerome “Jerry” Jay Johnson. He was that guy (and my sister and I were the ones hiding behind a tree or under a park bench). He had more best friends than anyone I’ve ever met. You see he’s from a small town – Oakland the Swedish capital of the Nebraska and boy was he proud to be a Swede. In fact, if you’ve ever been to his house, you’ve probably seen a parking spot reserved for Swedes or Oliver tractors. Our dad was a passionate collector of classic tractors, cars, and antiques. His love for history, restoration and interesting stories lives amongst his impressive collection of treasures. Before he peacefully passed away at his lake house in Angola, IN on January 16th, his dear friend Ron Reichhart stopped by to read a national magazine article featuring our dad and his 1958 Dodge W100 that they restored together. While dad was in a coma at that time, we knew he was filled with pride as he listened to each word. Our dad wanted to make sure each of his vehicles went to the right owners before he passed and had important up-keep rules for each. The 1958 Dodge truck went to Ron where it will reside in a local museum for all to enjoy. The 1965 Ford truck was delivered to his baby brother Gaylen and his wife Cindy Johnson in Nebraska who built a special garage for it to be stored in. His 1966 Dodge CCS truck will started up each month to ensure the engine is operational by his son-in-law Gabriel Bridger and his vintage Honda moped will be polished and shined daily by his son-in-law Anthony Broad-Crawford. He just adored “his boys” like they were his own. Poppy also loved his grandchildren Emelia, Phoenix, Jenson and Ivy and will rest in peace knowing that they too will learn how to drive stick shift.
 
Dad graduated from University of Nebraska with an Engineering and partying degree. He just loved to entertain and hosted some of the best Halloween parties in the barn, pool tournaments in the basement bar and of course guys nights his garage. The only parties he didn’t appreciate were the ones my sister and I hosted while he was out of town but maybe that’s because we didn’t do a good enough job at cleaning up the evidence. We threw one final party for him that included some of his best friends Curtis and Sandy Bailey, loving neighbors and his “Brendddaaa” Copeland. We each wore one of his favorite inappropriate t-shirts in his honor as we toasted to a life well-lived. Even after 40 years of marriage ended in divorce, our amazing mom and dad remained good friends… talking frequently and never an ill word about the past. We are now one big happy family. Her final words were “don’t worry Jerry I’ll take care of the girls; you’ve taught us everything we need to know, and Ruth is up there waiting to hug you”. Ruth is our maternal grandma who also recently passed away. Dad would always say that Ruthie was perfect just like his mother Carmen, and he was right. Both sets of our grandparents were waiting at heaven’s gates to welcome him home.
 
I’d like to end this with a “motto to live by” that our dad had hanging up on his wall: “Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in skidways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, WOO HOO, what a ride!”
 
So, talk to a stranger, don’t just be a friend… be a best friend, make people laugh, do ONLY the things you love and live your best life without worrying about being judged. As dad would say “only Judge Judy can judge him.”  And if you happen to be in Oakland, Nebraska, you’ll get one final laugh from J.J.J. when you pass by his tombstone that reads “I was hoping for a pyramid”. We love you dad. Thanks for making life fun.
 
To fulfill our dad’s detailed wishes, we will be holding an intimate dinner with friends and family this Spring in lieu of a funeral service and his ashes will be spread across his family’s farm in Nebraska. Instead of sending flowers, please do something kind for a stranger in honor of everyone’s best friend, Jerry.