Pastor Cecil M. Johnson

Pastor Cecil M. Johnson, 87, Eventide Lutheran Home, Moorhead, MN, was welcomed into the arms of his Heavenly Father on Tuesday, December 27, 2005.Cecil was born on November 24, 1918 in Minot, ND to Gustav and Helga Bye Johnson. He was reborn a child of God and heir of eternal life in the waters of Holy Baptism at First Lutheran Church, Minot, ND on March 24, 1919. He grew up and attended school in Minot, graduating from Minot Model High School in 1935. He received his B.A. in education from Minot State Teachers College in 1940, and taught high school and coached in Zahl, ND in 1940-41, where he met a local farmer's daughter named Eleanor Granstrom. They were married on Christmas Eve 1941 at Appam, ND. With the US entrance into WWII, Cecil went to work for Lockheed Aircraft in Los Angeles before enlisting in the US Army in 1943. Much of his service with the Army Corps of Engineers was spent on the island of Saipan. After his discharge in December 1946, and upon the encouragement of a Baptist army chaplain, Cecil enrolled at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. He was ordained into the Holy Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at First Lutheran Church in Minot on July 24, 1949. His first call was to a four point parish at Starkweather, ND from 1949-1956. The next was to Trinity Lutheran Church in Pelican Rapids, MN from 1956-1969, during which time he also provided ministry to Zion Lutheran Church in rural Pelican Rapids. Upon the death of Rev. T.C. Hanson, Cecil became District President Bishop of the Northern Minnesota District of the American Lutheran Church, a position to which he was twice re-elected. In 1981, following completion of his final term as bishop, Cecil continued to assist congregations in transition, with pulpit supply and as interim pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Aberdeen, SD. He also worked with Oak Grove Lutheran High School in Fargo, ND until retiring in 1983.Cecil served on the Concordia College Board of Regents from 1969-1981. He received the C-400 President & Regent's Award and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the college in 1969. As a founder of the International Water Coalition, Cecil was recognized for his commitment to and promotion of wise stewardship of the Basin's land and water resources. From 1988-1994, he served on the Board of Directors of the Heritage Hjemkost Interpretive Center, and was a recipient of the Red River Ox Cart Award. Cecil also served on the board of Lutheran Social Services and was recognized with an LSS Service Award. In recognition of his ministry with Native Americans in northern Minnesota, Cecil was given the title "Kit-Chi-Wa-Chee-Mo-Ko-Mahn" by Faith Lutheran Church in Bagley, MN. Translation: "As you are employed in labor by the will of God, you will bring holiness to your fellow man." Cecil is survived by his children, Kathryn Benson, Moorhead, MN, Pastor Timothy Susan Johnson, Anoka, MN, and Sita Norman Johnson, Richfield, MN; eight grandchildren, Jon Jessica Benson, Matt Lia Benson, Peter Becca Benson, Micah AmyJo Benson, Andrew Maren Johnson, Anna Johnson, Rebecca Rick Blood, and Marjorie Johnson; eight great-grandchildren, Gabriel Benson, Annika, Kai and Ava Benson, Annelis Benson, and Luke, Rachel and Aaron Blood. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Eleanor on October 10, 2004, and one sister Helen, who died in infancy.Cecil was a loving husband, good father, grandfather and great-grandfather, insightful thinker and good friend. Above all, he was a preacher of the Gospel, eloquent and faithful. For all this, thanks be to God.In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, the Cecil & Eleanor Johnson Scholarship fund at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, Trinity Lutheran Church, Moorhead, MN and Oak Grove High School, Fargo, ND.