Harry O. Johnson

HARRY O. JOHNSON, 89, died on Sunday, 8/1/2010, at his
residence in Bothell, WA under the care of his family and
caregivers. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, 8/12/10
at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, 3030 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA
98004.
Arrangements are entrusted to Barton Funeral Home, Kirkland, WA
and an on-line memorial is available at: www.bartonfuneral.com .
Harry's family would greatly appreciate stories/remembrances from
friends and family.
Harry is preceded in death by his adoptive parents, Ole and
Hilda Johnson of Abercrombie, ND, infant sister, Josephine; his
biological parents, Harold Purdie and Ida Kobbervig (MN); first
wife, Mae Johnson; grandson, Michael Hope Johnson; and second wife,
Dawna Johnson.

Harry is survived by: his four children Jim (Kay) Johnson
(Butte, MT), Steve (Stephanie) Johnson (Kirkland, WA), Vicki
Potter (Woodinville, WA), and Diane (Chris Leen) Johnson
(Woodinville, WA); seven grandchildren, Christi Daniels, Kim
Johnson and Debbie Rafferty (Jim); Eric Johnson and Amy Johnson
(Steve); Dan Potter and Nick Potter (Vicki); six
great-grandchildren; half-sister, Maxine Hoot (Indiana); several
nieces and nephews, several extended family members in Minnesota,
and close friends.

1927

Harry was born on January 30, 1921 in Fargo, ND to Harold Purdie
and Ida Kobbervig and was adopted as an infant by Ole and Hilda
Johnson of Abercrombie, ND, who raised him as their own and loved
him dearly. He attended the Abercrombie public school system and
graduated from Abercrombie High School in 1938. In 1939, Harry
joined the Civilian Conservation Corp with his best friend, Corrie
Snyder. He married Mae Klubberud on 1/11/1941. Together they lived
on and worked the family farm, began raising the three oldest
children there, and moved to Washington State in 1953, where the
fourth child was born; all were raised in Kirkland, WA. In 1976,
he married Dawna Alley and they resided in Bothell for many years.
Harry worked as a machinist in the Seattle area and later became an
Associate Broker in real estate in the Kirkland area. Harry and
Dawna enjoyed traveling the country and spending winters in Yuma,
Death Valley, and Mexico.

As a young boy and young man, Harry sang at the majority of
weddings and funerals in his home town of Abercrombie; later he
also sang at his children's weddings. Harry began playing the
fiddle at the age of seven. When he was 11, he bought a guitar for
$3.98 and would play along with his cousin, Helmer Amundsen, to
learn the old Norwegian tunes. Harry packed up his family and
headed west in the wake of the devastating floods of 1953, settling
in Kirkland, WA, just east of Seattle. He had no connection to the
local fiddling community until the day he followed the sound of
sweet music to a barber shop. Harry became a regular session
member and would hum Helmer's old tunes for the others to learn and
play. One fateful day, the fiddle was handed to Harry and he was
hooked again. He was soon surrounded by friends who lent him
records and tapes and joined him for jam sessions. In ND, Harry
had listened to American and Canadian fiddle music on the radio
"with those fast hoedowns, but we didn't know what that was, in my
country, so I ignored it." Now, he began learning them, along with
other tunes common to the local fiddlers' repertoire. In 1970,
Harry stopped in Weiser, Idaho on the way to a family vacation in
ND. The national fiddle contest was in full swing and he left with
tunes running through his head. When he retired in the mid-1970s,
Harry took to traveling and met many more musicians. Harry

was chosen to represent Pacific NW Fiddling at the 1976
Smithsonian Folklife Festival during the Bicentennial celebrations.
He has recorded several albums, has won countless fiddle contests
across the country, and was a strong competitor at the National
Oldtime Fiddle Contests in Weiser, Idaho each year since 1972. The
City of Bothell proclaimed 7/6/1998 as "Harry Johnson Champion
Fiddler Day". On 12/1/1998 Evening Magazine, a local TV program,
devoted a show to his fiddling, including substantial interviews
with Harry's wife, Dawna, with her beautiful flower garden as a
backdrop for the show.
Despite Harry's multiple medical issues over the past few years,
he consistently welcomed visits and phone calls from friends, and
would fiddle whenever an opportunity arose. He valued the time
spent with his children to the very end and he will be missed
dearly.

The family wishes to thank Harry's awesome and compassionate
health care professionals at Evergreen Hospital, who helped him to
stay in good health for many, many years, and to staff at Cascade
Vista in Redmond, who contributed to Dad's comfort and well-being
during the last month of his life.
Memorials may be sent to Emmanual Lutheran Church (cemetery
fund), Abercrombie, ND 58001 or to the Harry Johnson Memorial Fund,
c/o John Grundstrom, Washington Oldtime Fiddlers Association, 108
Ironwood Place, East Wenatchee, WA 98802.