Tuesday, March 13, 2018 7:38 pm
Ronald Dale Johnston, 87, of Osage, formerly of Mount Ayr, died Tuesday, March 13, 2018, at Osage Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Osage. Visitation is from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 15, at the Champion-Bucheit Funeral Home in Osage. Funeral services are at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 17, at the Armstrong Funeral Home in Mount Ayr, with visitation from 9 to 10 a.m. Burial is in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Mount Ayr.
Ronald was born Nov. 6, 1930, in Des Moines, the son of Raymond and Versye (Caldwell) Johnston. He attended and graduated from Mount Ayr High School in 1948. Ron then attended Drake University in Des Moines. He served his country in the United States Navy serving from 1949 to 1953. He was married to Bonnie Marie Cowell at the Little Brown Church in Nashua March 25, 1951. They had two sons, Evan and Alvin. Ronald worked for the State of Iowa Department of Natural Resources as a fish hatchery manager in Mount Ayr from 1951 to 1958, Lake Wapello State Park, in Drakesville from 1958-1975 and the Fish Hatchery in Decorah from 1973 until he retired in 1992. He enjoyed watching the Iowa Hawkeyes, traveling throughout the United States with his family. Ronald and Bonnie wintered in Rockport, Texas. He enjoyed visiting with people and always had a story to tell. Most of all, he loved spending time with his granddaughters and their families.
Ronald is survived by his wife, Bonnie Johnston of Osage; three granddaughters and their families; Veronica (Jason) Baldwin of Albuquerque, N.M. and their children, Christopher and Gabe, Amanda (Andrew) Johnson of Bay City, Mich. and their daughter Indie, and Alana (Luke) Scheer of Osage and their children Drayven and Kade; daughter-in-law, Rita Johnston of Osage; and sisters-in-law, Mildred Johnston of Urbandale and Patricia Cowell of Oregon.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sons, Evan in 2010 and Alvin in 2018; and brother, Herbert Johnston.
Champion-Bucheit Funeral Home 641-732-3706, champion-bucheitfuneralhome.com.
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