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Gregg "Gordie" Johnson
Gregg Gordon “Gordie” Johnson, 75, of Marshalltown, passed peacefully from this life on December 5, 2021, in search of his next big adventure. Gordie lived his life grandly, and if you ever had the good fortune to sit awhile and talk with him, he would have told you a tale about the ridiculous situations he had gotten himself into and the crazy things he had seen and done in his life. However, in telling the story of Gordie’s life, it is, at times, impossible to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth so perhaps it makes sense then to start at the beginning. Gordie was born in Marshalltown, Iowa on October 10, 1946, to Cecil and Ruth Johnson, and Gordie would be the first to tell you that he got into his fair share of mischief growing up. When Gordie was about 5 years old his family lived on Center Street before the viaduct was built. He would ride his tricycle up the street to the barber shop and go in. They would give him a nickel to leave! Then he continued up the street to the tavern and go in. They, too, would give him a nickel to leave! Such an entrepreneur! You may have heard about the time he and a friend decided to cruise down Main Street in a friend’s construction truck only to discover that after revving the engine to impress some ladies, a keg full of nails in the back of the truck had spilled out into the middle of the intersection of Main and Center. A reporter from the Times-Republican just happened to be in the area and was able to capture a photo of Gordie and his friend frantically attempting to sweep up the street after the incident. Maybe you heard about the time when Gordie was in high school, and he and his friends decided they needed to buy “fast cars” to pick up girls, so they started a french fry company selling fresh cut fries to local restaurants to raise money. When their fundraising plan fell short of the money needed to purchase the muscle cars of their dreams, they tried to convince Gordie’s dad, Cecil, that they “had to buy” used police cars from a local auto auction instead. “Great cars available for a fraction of the price!” they said. “It was a steal!” they said. The pitch worked, and Gordie and his friends purchased three identical used highway patrol cars. Apparently, the girls still did not pay them any attention – but the police sure did! Or perhaps Gordie once told you about the time he worked as a part-time school bus driver while attending Marshalltown Community College and two of the students gifted him with a cupcake made with Ex-lax frosting as a prank. Apparently, he was unable to drive his bus route for the remainder of the week. Gordie would tell you these tales are truth, and perhaps they are, but at times it was difficult to discern where the facts ended, and the story began. He may or may not have taken Molly Ringwald’s sister to an Oklahoma Sooner’s football game once. He may or may not have pulled two dead bodies from a plane crash during a blizzard and used the hood of a car and his snowmobile to return them home. He may or may not have raced his beloved yellow Pantera from Marshalltown to Ames in 10 minutes flat. He may or may not have used a pair of pliers to shift gears in a friend’s car after they ran out of gas on their way back from Colorado and were forced to trade the gear shift for a tank of gas just to make it home. To be certain, many have debated the veracity of this lore for years, but some facts of Gordie’s life are not debatable. Gordie loved Debbie, his wife of 36 years, and he loved the family they created together. He was overjoyed with the birth of his two twin boys, John and Adam, and with the birth of his beloved daughter, Laura, three years later. Together, they built a life that some might not consider altogether epic or extraordinary, but for those who understand the precious gift of close family, Gordie’s life was truly the stuff of greatness. He spent countless weekends hauling trailers full of go-karts around the country to attend races with his kids. On more than one occasion he cursed broken chain belts and blown motors with an unparalleled fury. Yet, racing with his boys remained one of the greatest joys of his life. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of Marshalltown athletics. He frequently was “that guy” at Laura’s high school and college volleyball games -- filling pop bottles with pennies to make noisemakers that he obnoxiously shook without apology to distract opponents. He took great pleasure in making a spectacle wherever he went, and never failed to regale both willing and unwilling listeners with stories of his antics. Gordie was likely fated to be a storyteller as he came by the trade naturally. He fine tunned his craft over decades of running the small café that his father, Cecil, had started in 1960. Cecil’s Café was a Marshalltown landmark and the large Rooster on the roof was a beacon for those in search of a cup of coffee, a plate of eggs, or a waffle that could reaffirm your faith in the Devine. The café was the hub for the Johnsons, and anyone who came to Cecil’s was welcomed and treated like part of the family. From national politicians and the occasional celebrity to factory workers and locals, people from all walks of life came to Cecil’s to congregate and swap gossip over good food. So, it should come as no surprise that Gordie amassed a veritable smorgasbord of outlandish anecdotes. Gordie once said that common sense could be acquired over time, and that he was proof of that. He devoted years dispensing his wit and wisdom in a monthly series he penned for the Marshalltimes called, “Ask the Gordo”. When someone wanted to know what to do if their date’s dog was attracted to their leg, or how to trick their husband into finishing his fixer upper projects, or even what do about a lady who kept stealing toilet paper from a local business, they could just Ask the Gordo! He had an answer for every conceivable (and inconceivable) woe and would dispense his advice in the form of life lessons he had learned over the years. The advice he offered may not have always been practical, but it never failed to be amusing. However, there was more to Gordie than tall talk. Those who knew him best would tell you that Gordie could also be stubborn. Lord, the man was difficult and downright obstinate at times. Despite this, Gordie still found a way to remain endearing. Perhaps it was because he devoted much of his life to helping others. After graduating from high school, Gordie joined the U.S. Marine Corp. in 1966 and served in Platoon 117. He was discharged honorably in 1973. True to the values instilled in him during his service, he remained always faithful to the military and the Marines and flew his U.S. and Marine Corp. flags outside his home until the day he died. Gordie also believed in service to his community and was a Marshalltonian through and through. He always wanted to know what was happening around town and enjoyed being involved in solutions to make his hometown a better place for people to live. He spent more than four years serving on the Marshalltown City Council and twelve years as the elected Marshall County Supervisor. He was most proud to be awarded both a key to the city and a key to the county for his service – a feat in Marshalltown, he would tell you, that he was the only one to ever accomplish. Yet, beneath all that bravado was a man with a big heart. Gordie believed in giving people a second chance – especially those whom society often overlooked. In that regard, he practiced what he preached. Gordie ran Cecil’s Café for over forty years. During much of that time, he would wake up every morning at 4:30 a.m. to pick up residents of the Iowa Department of Corrections Marshalltown Residential Facility – commonly known as the “halfway house”, who were interested in working at the café. He would drive them to and from Cecil’s Café every day to work. Sometimes his efforts helped people get back on their feet, and sometimes they did not, but Gordie never stopped giving people a chance. After years of waking to early alarm clocks to open Cecil’s for the early morning coffee crowd and long days standing over a hot grill, Gordie, finally hung up his apron in 2016. He and Debbie spent their retired years together traveling around the country, visiting family and friends, and watching their children grow their own families. He delighted in the births of each of his five grandchildren and was excited to meet his sixth in April. Unfortunately, Gordie’s plans to write a few more chapters in the epic tale of his life were waylaid due to heart issues. He underwent numerous surgical procedures and fought the good fight, but ultimately succumbed to complications from heart failure and the man who loved life with his whole heart was thwarted by his own. The absence of such an extraordinary man reverberates in the hearts of those who knew him. Gordie was once asked how to deal with the loss of a loved one. In response to the question, Gordie reflected on the loss of his own father and said, “When I think back, all the memories were nice if not down-right funny. He lived life to the fullest. So my advice to you would be to think of the good deeds they did and the happiness they brought to us while they were with us.” Gordie spent his life telling tales of his extraordinary mishaps and misadventures, but those who loved him will remember him best for the less spectacular moments; the jokes that only he could get away with telling, his excitement after a Yankee’s win, his unapologetic theft of the remaining French fries from someone’s dinner plate, his uncanny ability to take a nap anywhere, his big hugs, and mostly for the happiness he brought into their lives. Gordie is survived by his wife, Deborah (Hubbard) Johnson, his children, John (Kate) Johnson of Clive, IA, Adam (MaryAnn) Johnson of Del Ray Beach, FL, and Laura (Jonathan) Beason of Broken Arrow, OK, and his five grandchildren, Josie, Willa, J.J., Beau and Baker. He is reunited in death with this parents, Cecil and Ruth Johnson, and his brother, Alan Johnson. Gordie once said “Strange, maybe dumb things happen to everyone. The difference is that some of us tell other people and can laugh at ourselves about what happens. I think that is a good quality in a person, and not something we need to grow out of. Weird things happen to people all the time, but there only a few of us that share the stories”. Life is a funny, surprising, and weird thing sometimes, so be like Gordie. Share the stories. His family plans to do just that and await the day when they can hear about all the things he did while they were apart. In celebration of Gordie’s life, his family hopes that you will join them for a visitation at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home on Sunday, December 12, 2021 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. A Celebration of life will follow the services under the direction of the family at the American Legion in Marshalltown. Please join in sharing your favorite stories of Gordie’s life. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Croix Hospice, 1555 SE Deleware Avenue suite Q, Ankeny, IA, 50021October 10, 1946 - December 5, 202110/10/194612/05/2021
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Gregg "Gordie" Johnson
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