Arlan Elliot Johnson was born December 5, 1931 in Wadena, MN, the son of Arthur and Maude (Rice) Johnson. He attended Wadena Country School District 14 and graduated from Wadena High School in 1949. He farmed together with his parents until 1955, when he entered the United States Army. He spent most of his service career at the Southern European NATO Headquarters in Naples, Italy. Following his honorably discharge in 1957, Arlan was employed by Johnson Service Company in Fargo, ND. He installed and serviced automatic temperature controls in commercial buildings.

Arlan was united in marriage to Jeanette C. Anderson on June 20, 1959 in New York Mills, MN. They had two sons: Allan and Paul. They made their home in Moorhead, MN until 1963 when they moved to Wadena where Arlan was associated with the Gores Company in real estate and insurance work. In 1967, they moved to Alexandria where Arlan was employed by the city as an assessor and city administrator until his retirement in 1994.

Arlan was active in the community and Calvary Church activities. He was also a member of the Kiwanis for 50+ years, served on the Bethany board and the sewer district board. Arlan enjoyed working and spending time on their hobby farm, woodworking and traveling.

He is survived by his wife: Jeanette of Alexandria; sons: Allan (Colleen) Johnson of Dilworth and Paul (Ann) Johnson of Alexandria; grandchildren: Sarah (JD) Derring of Osakis and Justin (Trisha) Braaten of Minot, ND; great-grandsons: JD Jr., Jax and Jesse Derring and Jamison and Maddox Braaten; and several nieces and nephew. Arlan was preceded in death by his parents: Art and Maude Johnson; his brothers: Allard and Merle Johnson; and his sister: Margery.

Arlan Johnson, age 90, of Alexandria died on Thursday, January 6, 2022.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at Calvary Lutheran Church in Alexandria, MN.  Visitation will be held from 4-7 PM on Monday, January 10, 2022, at the Anderson Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be at Kinkead Cemetery.

A live stream and recording of the service will be available 11:00 AM on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, on the funeral home website. 

Arlan's family requests everyone to wear a mask during the visitation on Monday and also for the memorial service on Tuesday.