Obituary of John Alfred Johnson

John was born in Seguin, Texas to Geneva Means-Johnson and John Alfred Johnson (both deceased). He attended school in Seguin, Gonzales, San Antonio (all in Texas) and The Los Angeles Trade Technical College. He is survived by his sister, Hazel, whom he always called Mary, and her extended family, including husband Dwayne, his nephews Noah "Leroy" and his family, Dan and his family, and David, and nieces Yolanda and her family, and April. He entered the United States Army February 4, 1969, and earned an honorable discharge January 25, 1971. He received a National Defense Service Medal attaining expert level on the M-14. He received training as a Truck Driver in the Department of Transportation U.S. School of Trucking, Class A multiple axle trucks, and Chauffeur certification. He also received training in welding and mechanical skills, specializing in truck maintenance. He would later use these skills to great advantage as a civilian. John received a full disability pension from the Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) in 2004 for service-related conditions. He enjoyed life as a cross-country truck driver in the continental U.S. for many years, and eventually started his own business as an independent truck owner and transport professional. John had a variety of hobbies through the years, which included working on, customizing, and racing cars and motorcycles. He eventually settled on cruising and touring on his Harley Davidson motorcycles, which he treated with the greatest love and attention, personally maintaining and customizing each to his taste. These motorcycles were perhaps the greatest love in his life, as he never married or had children. He always enjoyed certain exotic pets, such as lizards, snakes and Gila Monsters. He carried a boa constrictor in his vehicles for a period of time, partially as companionship and partially for security. We know of at least one incident where the boa caused a "problem" for someone who borrowed his car without knowledge of the snake (a story which has always amused the family). John was always very friendly and sociable and almost always had a smile on his face while enjoying the company of his friends. He enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson with friends and joined a club or two through the years, in order to meet new friends and share cruising experiences. In his latter years, he especially enjoyed riding to locations near the water in the Puget Sound area, and visits to assorted motorcycle accessible places at Mount Rainier. He was in the process of becoming a member of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, who identified him as Prospect 3. He had satisfied his requirements to become a full member, and would have been formally inducted into the club July 3, 2010, a goal he just missed. See http://www.buffalosoldiersmc.net for more information about this excellent motorcycle club. A Military Honors Memorial Service was scheduled for July 21, 2010, at 12:30 pm. at the Tahoma National Cemetery near Kent, Washington. A memorial plaque will be permanently placed in his memory at the Tahoma National Cemetery, 18600 S.E. 240th Street, Kent, WA 98042-4868. See http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/tahoma.asp for more information.