Johnson, Donald Gunnar

Johnson, Donald Gunnar

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Donald Gunnar Johnson.

Don was born February 15, 1939 in Nelson BC and passed away at his home with his wife by his side after a long battle with prostate cancer. Don was predeceased by his birth parents Gunnar Johnson and Palma Rakitte, foster parents Jim and Hazel Clark, and sister Florence (Doug) Reid.

His is survived by his loving wife Shirley, daughter Wendy (Nicholas) Fominoff of Winlaw and grandchildren Amy Simpson of Slocan, Nicholas (Ashlee) Fominoff of South Slocan, Devan (Chris) White of Nakusp, Deanna (Chris) Shulze of Slocan Park, son Darin (Leah) and grandchildren Mitchell, Hayley, Jaylyn of Williams Lake, son Nathan (Melissa Sarver) and grandchildren Kylee, Kaden, Kaleb of Nelson and Everett of Castlegar, sister Reima Robertson of Oliver, foster sister Cathy (Tom) Cavaletto of Rayleigh, Ruth Clark of Trial, foster brother Rob (Carol) Clark of Mundare AB, and great grandchildren Nevaeh, Xander, Dylan Simpson of Slocan, Nicholas Fominoff of South Slocan, Ezra and June White of Nakusp, Noah and Presley Shulze of Slocan Park.

Don spent the early part of his childhood living on Bealby Road in Nelson and attending Hume school as a young boy. He also lived in Harrop for 3 years where he and his sister Florence were fostered by the Maida family. Shortly after that he moved to Kaslo where he was blessed to have been fostered by Jim and Hazel Clark who soon became his permanent family. He relocated to Kamloops with the Clarks and completed his high school years at Kamloops High and graduated in 1957. Don began his working life with the City of Kamloops Parks Department and worked there for a 5 year period. In 1958 he met his future wife Shirley Trigg and on January 21, 1961 they were married. Shortly afterwards, Don began his career in property tax assessment working for the Municipality of North Kamloops. His assessment career spanned a period of 16 years and included working for the District Municipality of Kitimat, the Regional District of Central Kootenay in Nelson and the BC Assessment Authority also in Nelson. In 1979, Don became self-employed and started a private property appraisal company. By 1988, he had joined forces with Terry Bell, another private appraiser in Nelson and together they formed Concord Appraisals Ltd. After several years of working together they decided to part ways and Don became the sole owner of Concord Appraisals until his retirement in 2000 after 21 years in the appraisal business.

Don had been a faithful member of the Nelson Evangelical Lutheran Church for 20 years and then became a member of the Bridge Christian Community Church which he stayed active in well into his retirement. He enjoyed spending much time in his workshop at home where he could be often found tinkering on projects, reading books, listening to music or visiting with a friend. He found great pleasure fishing and boating on Kootenay Lake with family and friends over the years and enjoyed camping at nearby campsites with his wife during his retirement. Don always had a good sense of humour and his words of wisdom will be missed by those who loved him.

Don will be remembered as a kind hearted man with a gentle nature who cherished his family.