Raymond "Ray" C. Johnson

Raymond "Ray" C. Johnson, 77, Cook passed away on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at Essentia Health-St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth.

He was born Raymond Clifford Johnson on July 19, 1938, in Virginia, MN; the son of Clifford and Sylvia (Alango) Johnson. He lived in Duluth for a short time and moved to Cook in 1945, where he has since resided. He had attended the Cook School and in 1956 joined the Air Force, serving his country in Duluth, Iceland and Chicago until his honorable discharge in 1959. He was united in marriage to Kay Fogelberg on December 7, 1957 in Cook. Ray was employed as a welder for the Pipefitters Union, working all over the Range area, retiring in 2000.
In his earlier years Ray had enjoyed hunting and trapping. His family fondly recalls he was a farmer at heart and loved working on his beef cattle farm. He was a very humble and quiet man, but his family knew they were the most important in his life. He will be greatly missed by his family.

Ray is survived by his wife of nearly 58 years, Kay Johnson of Cook; their children, Carol (Kenneth) MacDonald of Cook, Russell (Shirley) Johnson of Cook, Kim (John) Jirik of Orr and Shane (Jessica) Johnson of Cook; 1 brother Dewey (Carolyn) Johnson of Hibbing; son-in-law Daniel Seopa of Bear River; 11 Grandchildren, Adam MacDonald, Joanna Chapman, Sarah Cavanagh, Rebecca Page, Kathleen Eshelman, Andrew Johnson, Jennifer Christianson, Cherie Seopa, Jonathon Seopa, Grace Johnson and Pierce Johnson; along with 6 great-grandchildren.

SERVICES: Funeral service will be at 1:00 PM, Monday, (Oct. 26th) at the First Baptist Church in Cook. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the services. Pastor Randy Swenson will be the officiant. Ray's grandchildren will be the casket bearers. Interment will be in the Cook Community Cemetery. A reception will follow in the church social hall. Arrangements are with the Mlaker Funeral Home in Cook. To sign the online guest book or to leave a condolence for the family go to: www.mlakerfuneralhome.com