Craig Bradford Johnson

Craig Bradford Johnson died September 3, 2020 at the Solvay Hospice from brain cancer. He was born in St. Luke’s hospital on April 19, 1955, the last of 3 children of George R. Johnson Sr. and Shirley Hill Johnson. He grew up in the Pike Lake area and graduated from Proctor High School in 1973. As a child he was a budding mechanic so after graduation he studied Heavy Equipment Repair at VO-TECH, now LSC. He worked delivering newspapers, Gordy’s Hi-Hat, Target, Ziegler, and St. Louis County. He started out as a custodian at Nopeming and retired as the Supervisor of Heavy Equipment at the Pike Lake facility in 2011.

Craig loved fishing, 4 wheeling, riding his “snortin’ Norton”, snowmobiling, hanging with friends and telling the best funny stories. He met Debbie Schuler Strassburg in 1991 and she loved the outdoors as much as he did. They married in May, 1993 and went on to have a wonderful life together. They were best friends and it was always “Just the Two of Us, You and I” like the song. You rarely saw one without the other. They built a new house, traveled to all 50 states, Canada and the Caribbean. They loved camping, hunting at “The Shack”, gardening, watching the birds at the feeders, and just enjoying each other’s company. They had a very special love story.

Craig was preceded in death by his parents; infant brother, George Jr.; cousin, Hunter Fronden; and in-laws, Don and Kathy Schuler.

Craig is survived by his loving wife, Debbie Johnson of Saginaw; devoted sister, Deborah Bloom and brother-in-law, Robert Bloom of Hermantown, their daughter Jesse Bloom and her husband Guy Robinson of Berkley, MI; Craig’s aunt and uncle, Beverly and Dick Wargin of Hermantown; also a sister and brother-in-law, Gary and Vickie Schuler of Duluth and their children, Laura Schuler (Adam Kofstad) and baby girl Kofstad (on the way) of Silver Bay; hunting buddy and special nephew, Dan Schuler (Courtney Steele and her sons Isacc and Noah) of Two Harbors; and many cousins and friends, especially Kurt and Lee Ann Nelsen.

“Craig we will miss your smile, wittiness, jokes, and your gentle and loving way. You will be missed.”

Due to Covid, a small private service was held. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to the family and will be donated to several charities in Craig’s memory.

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