Leonard Johnson

Leonard Johnson, age 85, of Marquette, died Tuesday evening, December 21, 2004, at Memorial Community Care in Aurora.

Funeral Services will be held 10:00 A.M., Friday, December 24th at the United Methodist Church in Aurora. Rev. Brian Kottas will officiate. Interment will be in the Aurora Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 to 8 P.M. Thursday at Higby-McQuiston Mortuary. Memorials may be made to the Memorial Hospital Foundation or the Aurora United Methodist Church. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at higbymortuary.com.

OBITUARY: LEONARD JOHNSON

Leonard Charles Johnson, the son of Charles M. and Alta Faye (Dance) Johnson, was born in Aurora, Nebraska on March 13, 1919 and died in Aurora, Nebraska on December 21, 2004, at the age of 85.

He grew up in Aurora and graduated from Aurora High School in 1937.

On February 8, 1942, he was united in marriage to Margaret E. Lichtenberger at Bradshaw. Leonard farmed until he joined a construction gang of the C B & Q Railroad in 1955. He bid to be a traveling maintainer and his territory was from Aurora, Illinois to St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1961, he bid for a small foreman's gang in Omaha. In 1964, Leonard bid for a foreman's job of a signal gang and installed flashing signals and crossing gates. In August 1969, he bid for a signal maintainer in Aurora, Nebraska. Leonard held that job until he retired in May of 1980. Leonard then raised a cow and calf herd up until about four years ago.

Leonard was a member of the Aurora Lion's Club and the Railroad Signal - U.C.T. He was also a member of the Eagles, the Platt Duetsche and Liederkranz all of Grand Island.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Geraldine Jensen and Nadine Gerbrick.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife Margaret Johnson of Marquette; sister, Elna Hagen and many nieces and nephews.