I just received an email stating that Don Johnson wrestling official from Fredonia died in a car crash yesterday. If you have information on services and memorials would you please post it on here. Don was a good man. I will miss working with him.

Terrible news ... my heart felt feelings to his son (also an official) and the rest of the family!

Prayers go out to his family and Firends

RIP

As soon as we are told, I'll post it here. I never had Don Johnson as a coach although we wrestle with Fredonia, we didn't have the chance to wrestle in junior high until I was a sophmore. He always however seemed to coach my sister the best he could when she wrestled in 8th grade and the other wrestlers now in high school. I knew him only as a cool refree who was fun to joke with, and was fair and knowledgeable in refreeing matches. He will be missed, several JH wrestlers cried at the meeting this morning. God bless him.

God Bless.

I had the opportunity to coach with Don during my first year as a coach and had a great time working with him. I was also fortunate to talk with Don just a couple of weeks ago as he was working the Halstead Invite as an official. He will be greatly missed!!! I'm glad that I was able to know and work with Don Johnson. My best to his family in this terrible time.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Don's wife, Lisa, and the entire family. Don was one of the first friends I made in the sport of wrestling. He was coaching at Mission Valley, and we dualed them in the first dual I coached in back in 1990. Over the years, we have watched our children grow and shared a lot of great times in the sport of wrestling. I was proud to call Don one of my friends both in this great sport and in life!

He will be missed by the wrestlers, coaches and our entire Burlington Wrestling Family.

If you would like to send cards to Lisa and the kids the address is:

The Johnson Family
4191 Delaware Road
Elsmore, KS 66732

Doug & Michelle Vander Linden
Rusty & Kathi Emling
Tim & Kristy Johnson
& the Entire Burlington Wrestling Family

This is very sad news. Don was a great person! He loved wrestling and gave a lot of himself to the sport. This is very sad for his family.

Kit Harris

My best to the Johnson family. i coached against Don at Mission Valley when JD was wrestling there, and remember him i believe up at Nemaha Valley way back in the day. I always gave him heck on the cowboy hats and more than an earful on the art of officiating, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Klint Deere

From the reports I've been sent, Don was on his way to a duel @ LCHS when he was involved in a 3-car accident of K-47.

Speaking on behalf of the KWOA with a heavy heart:
We've lost a man of character, a dear friend and a great official.

God Bless you Don and RIP.

Don had some competitive teams in a pretty tough place to coach. We thought a bunch of his skills as a coach, and his character as a coach. Don always ran a class program. His son was very tough and fun to watch wrestle. My thoughts are prayers are with Don and his family. We will pray as a team for you this evening. God Bless.

Just wondering if services have been set yet?

This is very sad news Don was our head official at our tournament he will be missed by all we will keep him and his family in our prayers
God Bless Don

This is terrible news. The wrestling world has lost an absolutly wonderful person and official. I've had the opportunity to officiate with him on many occasions. My prayers will be with his family.

My first coach.

Don taught me most of what I know about wrestling and a lot about integrity. He truely made a difference in my life and I know countless others. Coach was not just a coach but a real friend. 15 years out of school and he still stayed in contact with me. I remember watching Adam & JD wrestle kids the first year he started the Mission Valley program....I think Adam was 5. Now my son is six and I am coaching the same basics Coach Don taught me. I hope that I am making the same positive influence in these young men that he made in me.

My love and prayers go out to my friends Lisa, JD, Lindsay, Crystal, Adam and thir families.

Dustin Kuntz

Hello.

Some of you might know this already, but in case you do not know, here is the information we have at Fredonia High School about Don's service on Tuesday:

"The service will be Tuesday at 1:00 at the LDS Church in Iola. (no address at this time) Any memorial money can be left or made out to the Don Johnson Memorial. The family has not yet determined what this money will go toward."

Any flowers can be sent to:
Feuerborn Family Funeral Services
344 N. Cedar
Moran, KS 66755
(email: farrisfeurerborn@earthlink.net)

The funeral home (address above) also told me that the family will receive friends from 6-8:00 p.m. tomorrow night, February 12.

Thank you all for the tributes you've posted here in honor of Don Johnson. Amazing how one man could touch so many hearts and lives and leave such a trail of good memories. I'm so thankful that my son showed me this website so that I could read what you have written. (I teach with Don; he and Lisa are my good friends, too.)

P.S. If you have any stories about Don, Lisa would love for you to share them--especially funny ones! (Surely there aren't ANY of those!!) I'm sure you can email them directly to the funeral home, or if you post them here, I will see that she receives them.

Church of Jesus Christ of LDS
1420 E Carpenter St
Iola, KS 66749
(620) 365-2777

Google Map - Church of Jesus Christ of LDS - Iola, Kansas