- Date Of Birth: March 14, 1945
- Date Of Death: January 4, 2017
- State: Minnesota
Brian N. Johnson, of Walker, MN, passed away on January 4, 2017. His driver’s license said he was 71, but as he told his nurses at St. Cloud Hospital, where he arrived following the stroke that eventually took his life, he was 14 years old on the inside.
For a man with a nice head of hair, he wore many hats. Brian’s story began on a farm outside of Borup, MN, and even though he moved to town (Moorhead) at the age of 16, he never quite lost his love of John Deere tractors.
Brian carried a passion bordering on obsession for each of his pursuits. He studied at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and became a beloved high school teacher, whose special rapport with students was recognized by his nominations for Teacher of the Year. He published a tremendously popular curriculum for Scandinavian Folk History during his tenure at Moorhead High School, which was purchased and implemented into several area school districts. But most of all, he reveled in the lasting relationships he developed along the way. Being relentlessly positive and proactive in his outlook, when Moorhead School District’s declining enrollment threatened to eliminate scores of positions, Brian created an Outplacement Service to help teachers like himself seek new careers.
In 1979, he discovered his next vocation as a financial advisor in Fargo, ND, with Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood; a role that combined his zeal for both teaching and farming by planting seeds and offering guidance to help his clients’ assets grow. In these endeavors, and by all measures, Brian achieved great success. He was in the top 5% in production during his career. As a branch manager, his offices had the greatest growth and highest profitability in the company. Yet, he always thought of his clients’ needs first, and Brian’s loyalty was legendary. Although the companies for which he worked changed their names on the sign that hung above his office door, he never took a “better” offer to work for another firm. At the time of his retirement from Stifel Financial in 2012, he was entrusted with more than 1,900 accounts and five generations of families’ assets.
But Brian’s greatest source of pride was his family. He knew a good thing when he saw it, and in 1982, he met and married the love of his life, a “classy and beautiful woman – inside and out”, his best friend and true partner, Mary Collins, in Fargo, ND. They briefly relocated from Fargo to Bloomington, MN, but their love of sailing, and the peaceful beauty of the north woods called them to make their home together on the shores of Leech Lake, in Walker, MN.
Brian was a man who would work hard all day, come home to eat dinner, and then roll up his sleeves to stain a fence or mow a ditch, all while wearing a pressed white button down shirt without the slightest sense of irony. His devotion to his community drove him to build a lighthouse for the Walker City Park, and even serve as mayor for a time, but politics wasn’t for him. Brian found bliss on his trusty John Deere, clearing Walker’s sidewalks of snow in the winter, and grooming its road sides and bike trails through the summer.
He lived in the moment, while focusing on the future. He never looked back. In his own words, written the evening before his stroke, he said, “Life is good. Be kind to one another. Share your time with people who truly care about you. Remember to always pay it forward!”
Brian is survived by his wife, Mary Lynn (Collins) Johnson of Walker; daughter Marni Johnson (Mike) Kirchmaier, and granddaughter Annika Kirchmaier, of Edina; sisters Dawn (Dale) Mitchell of Fallbrook, CA, and Peggy (Dale) Sheldon of Northfield, MN; aunt Evelyn “Toots” DesJardins, Moorhead, MN; Mary’s brothers and sisters, Leo (Gwen) Collins, Plymouth, MN, Ken (Marci) Collins, Boulder, CO, Paul (Debbie) Collins, Clifton, VA, Linda Collins, Fargo, ND (wife of Mike Collins, deceased in 2009), Beth (Jim) Dutcher, Gillette, WY, Pat (Teresita) Collins, Vero Beach, FL, Katie Collins, Brooklyn, NY; twenty nieces and nephews, and a host of friends, coworkers, and neighbors, as well as his dog, Bucket, who will all miss him dearly. Brian was preceded in death by his parents, Glenn N. Johnson and Esther “Pat” (Kading) Johnson, of Pelican Rapids, MN; sister, GayAnn Johnson, of Escondido, CA, and one nephew.
