Earle Edwin Johnson
04/23/1923 - 10/14/2025
Earle Johnson, 102, passed away peacefully October 14, 2025, at Piedmont Crossing Retirement Center in Thomasville, NC. Born April 23, 1923, in Sioux City, Iowa, to parents Edward Oscar Johnson and Annette Verstratton Johnson. He was married to his high school sweetheart, the former Darlene Wynkoop, until her passing in 1987.
He was a proud veteran of the US Navy, who enlisted in 1942 and retired after 21 years in the submarine service. He saw action in both World War II and Korea, with the most harrowing missions during the Cold War. He was aboard the USS Razorback, an escort vessel to the USS Missouri, and witnessed the surrender of Japan to end WWII in Tokyo Harbor. He was active in the VFW, American Legion, and numerous social organizations.
He was preceded in death by daughter Lynn Jewel, granddaughter Kelly Jewel, grandson Scott Faure and wife Gloria Jean (Prestia).
He is survived by daughter Sue Dalton, of Virginia Beach, VA, and sons Richard (Lena) Johnson of Lexington NC and Bob (Kathy) Johnson of Mohrsville, PA; as well as grandchildren, Brian Johnson, Earle Johnson, Robert (Emily) Johnson, Thomas (Sauni) Johnson, Ann (Michael) Crandell, Julie (Harry) Carrion, and Darlene Jewel and ten great-grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
So very sorry for your loss. We know how much he was loved by family and friends. Thoughts and prayers.
So sorry for the loss of your loved one. He certainly lived an incredible life. Such an amazing man to live a long happy, healthy life. All that had the privilege to meet him would agree. Again my Condolence on your loss.
I first met Earle in 1967 or ‘68 when I was in college and he came to visit Sue, his daughter, whom I was dating. I admit to being a bit surprised when Earle and Darlene drove up to Sue’s dorm in a pink Cadillac. At that stage of my life I had never before seen a pink Cadillac, and I admit to it having given me … questions? But despite the unusual car color, I felt like I had hit it off with Earle and Darlene from the start.
Later Sue and I married and produced two really wonderful offspring, Julie and Scott. As our kids grew we spent more and more time with Earle and Darlene. Between 1979 and 1982 they were living in Florida, and we typically spent a week or two every summer visiting them.
I looked up to Earle and his extensive knowledge of all things mechanical. He knew cars, houses, plumbing, electrical—everything!—inside and out. I was keen to learn from him, and he was generous in sharing his experiences and knowledge. He taught me the fundamentals of home repair, electrical, plumbing, cars, construction and more.
On one of our summer visits to Florida, Earle said, “I need some help on a little job.” Darlene stood in the background trying to stifle a guffaw. The little job was installing a concrete retaining wall around the pool he had already installed on his own. At that point I had no experience working with concrete and likely saw this as an opportunity to add to my limited resume of home improvement accomplishments.
At 8 am the next morning a cement mixer showed up at their house, full of seven cubic yards of fresh cement. The driver of said cement mixer asked Earle, “Where’s your crew?” Earle responded, “What crew? We’re it.” I don’t think I could define the word “apoplectic” at that point in my life, but the driver very effectively conveyed the meaning. “Two guys absolutely cannot unload and spread seven cubic yards of concrete within a 30-minute window!!!” He was just telling us that was how long his company’s policy permitted for unloading his cargo. We had had no idea.
Both Earle and I were strong, had two very large construction wheelbarrows, and we thought we were up to the challenge. Did I mention that the pool and the retaining wall location were quite some distance from the cement mixer, so hauling the super-heavy cement a goodly distance was a huge deal?
I overheard Earle tell Darlene, “Give him breakfast and keep the food and coffee coming!” As we humped load after load of cement to the retaining wall framework, our arms got longer and longer from the weight of the loads. And the clock got later and later.
As we neared the lunch hour, Darlene switched menu items from breakfast to lunch, bringing the driver sandwiches, chips and more. And then beers. And while he was still seething, he also seemed to accept the reality that he’d be a little outside of company policy for the day.
The driver left about 2 pm, and we were so totally worn out and sore that we could barely stand. Darlene came out with a couple of beers and snacks and we celebrated—the two of us had done it!
That was not unlike some of my other memories with Earle. It was his personality to go out of his way to help other people. And boy, oh boy, did he know how to have fun!
I was awed by the fact that that he had served in submarines in WWII. I knew nothing about his additional military contributions. He was way too modest to share his experiences, and I didn’t know what to ask about.
I often felt like he treated me like another of his sons, and I appreciated and loved him for that. I had some opportunities to visit him while he lived in Tennessee, and we laughed a lot while reminiscing about some of our memories together.
Earle Johnson was a kind and loving man, and his presence made the world a better place. He will be dearly missed…