Loving husband, father and grandfather, avid golfer

Kenneth “Ken” Robert Johnson, a longtime Claremont resident, died peacefully at his home on July 15, 2015 with his daughter and granddaughter by his side. He was 83.

He was born on June 13, 1932 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Kenneth, his sister June and his mother Frida moved to Los Angeles in the late 1940s. He enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1950 and went on to serve in the Korean War. He was honorably discharged in 1953 due to a service-related disability.

Following three years of military service, Mr. Johnson went onto college at Woodbury University in Burbank. He graduated with a business degree and began a career in the aerospace industry in southern California. Soon after college, he married Doreen Dunn. The couple had two children, Richard and DeeAnn. They first lived in Echo Park and then moved to their current home in Claremont in 1963. Doreen died in 2011 after 52 years of marriage.  

Golf was Mr. Johnson’s passion, and he spent many, many days and weekends throughout his life practicing. He participated in the California State Pro-Am competition numerous times and was a member of SCIGA, the Southern California Industrial Golf Association. Ken played the game of golf tirelessly and passionately, winning many amateur competitions throughout southern California and filling nearly an entire room in his Claremont home with golf trophies.

Mr. Johnson continued working in aerospace and related fields until retiring in 1998. He is survived by his children, Richard and DeeAnn, three grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and one great-grandchild, with another on the way.

A memorial service is scheduled for today, Friday, July 24, at 10:30 a.m. at Todd Memorial Chapel, 325 N. Indian Hill Blvd. in Claremont.