Iver Henry Johnson

Iver Henry Johnson, age 92, passed away on Thursday June 11^th at Ecumen Pathstone Living in Mankato, MN.  His wife and best friend, Shirley had passed away in January 2020 and he was filled with grief.  Sadly, he lost his will to live after three months of forced isolation due to Covid-19 restrictions.  He was not allowed to have visits with his family and couldn’t even hear their voices on the phone due to his hearing loss.  He was on the 2^nd floor so face-to-face window visits were not possible.

Iver was born in Chicago, IL in 1927 and grew up in Milaca, MN, graduating from Milaca HS in 1945. He enlisted in the Army and served for two years in Kentucky. After his discharge, Iver attended Saint Cloud State University and graduated in 1951 with a Bachelors Degree in Industrial Arts.  He met his wife, Maxine Wyrembek during college and they married in June of 1953.  They had five children.

Iver and Maxine moved to Pine Island, MN in 1953 where he taught high school Industrial Arts and Maxine taught grade school. Iver thoroughly enjoyed teaching school, especially woodworking.  Several students commented that he was the best teacher they’d ever had and some of the guys were happy to babysit once Iver and Max started having kids in 1956. He was a talented carpenter and built their home and most of their furniture.  During the summers, he built homes for other people.

In the summer of 1955, he and Maxine traveled to Greeley, CO, so Iver could attend summer classes to obtain his Masters Degree.  They lived in a camping trailer for three summers and it was a challenge living in such a small space.  Iver got his Master’s Degree in 1958.

Iver wanted to teach in a larger school so in 1962 they moved to Mankato, MN where Iver taught Industrial Arts at Wilson Campus School.  In 1969 he was awarded a one year doctoral fellowship to attend West Virginia University, in Morgantown WV.  His proudest achievement was finally earning his Doctorate in 1977.  Iver transferred to Mankato State College in 1971 to be a professor, teaching drafting, architectural drawing, Man and Technology, and Solar Energy. He mentored and was beloved by many of his students.  

Iver and Maxine divorced in 1974 and in 1976, Iver married Shirley Patrick. They bought land in northern MN on the Whitefish chain where he designed and built a beautiful geodesic dome home for when they both retired in 1989.  His children and their families celebrated many holidays and summer vacations there. Iver and Shirley loved having family visit for holidays and the house was always beautifully decorated for Christmas. His family said it was more like being on a vacation then just a visit to Dad. In 2000, Iver and Shirley moved to a house in the woods in Nisswa, MN in order to be closer to town and have a house without so many stairs. Iver and Shirley made sure their new home had enough bedrooms so that all of his children could visit at once. They lived there happily until 2015 when they moved back to Mankato due to Shirley’s health.

Iver enjoyed deer hunting with his sons. He quit when it became too hard for him to climb a tree. He enjoyed golfing with both of his sons. He loved living on the lake and spent a lot of time entertaining his family and friends, going on pontoon rides and fishing.  His children were always welcome to bring friends and snowmobiling in the winter was a favorite activity. Iver enjoyed making things out of wood and had a small business making clocks out of beautiful tree slices. He also made wooden tables, doll cradles, sleighs, reindeer, tv remote holders, paperplate holders, lazy susans, quilt holders and grill tool holders, for his kids as presents.

Iver and Shirley loved to travel; first going around the US in their camper. They spent several winters in Texas with Iver’s sister Grace and her husband Cliff.  He and Shirley also enjoyed cruises, guided tours overseas and Elder Hostel/Road Scholar trips.  One of his favorite trips was to Sweden, his grandparents’ homeland. Two other memorable trips were to Alaska and Russia.

One of Iver’s great loves was being a Mason and later a Shriner. He played an instrument in the Shriner’s band and participated in parades and fund raising events for the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital. He was a Worthy Patron for Shirley’s Eastern Star Order and a representative for their sister organization in Wyoming. He and Shirley made two road trips to Wyoming and really enjoyed Wyoming.  Their last road trip was to Denver, Colorado for his grandson, Josh’s wedding. Iver was 86 yrs old and extremely proud of himself for being able to make the long drive. He was determined to be at his first grandchild’s wedding and refused to fly.

He is survived by children Jill (Roger) Van Cleave, Jim (Roberta) Johnson, Janet (Dan) Workman, Lisa (Tony) Clubb and David (Shannon) Johnson; sister Alma Siemers; grandchildren Josh, Justin, Kelsey, Brianna, Alyssa, Whitney, Walker, Michael and Andrew: great grandchildren Josh Jr. and Colton; step-children Barb (Harry) Ross, Deborah (Mark) Wheeler and Scott (Ann) Patrick; step-grandchildren Tiara, Ben, Erin, Michael and Justin; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Shirley, father Andrew Edward Johnson, mother Henrietta (Korf) Johnson and sister Grace Hatch.

A private funeral service will be held.  Burial with military honors will take place at Forest Hill Cemetery in Milaca.