Charles Wayne Johnson

Charles Wayne Johnson of Smithfield died Thursday, June 11, 2009, after a valiant struggle with cancer. Chuck was born March 15, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois to John Earl and Emma Fay Johnson. He married Louise Johnson, the great love of his life. Chuck attended the Military Academy at West Point and served in the United States Army. He received his B.A. in history from DePaul University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Michigan State. He completed the Ph.D. in a record time of two years. Chuck was a Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University since 1972. Chuck played the snare drum in the Chicago Cavaliers Drum Corps and cherished his memory of being a part of the Corps. At USU he spent many years training the drum line of the Marching Band. Chuck participated in the USU Percussion Ensemble and played the bass drum in a Civil War era brass band. He also trained dancers to drum for the USU-sponsored Glenn Miller Show. He played percussion and sang in the choir during the Holy Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Hyde Park. As a professor in the philosophy program, Chuck was revered by generations of students for his dry wit, his sharp mind, and his love of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Chuck the Logician was enthralled with clarity and elegance in reasoning. Alongside his faith, family, drumming, and teaching, Chuck had a love of air and space travel and the technical aspects of flight. He studied government reports of air crashes and often knew before anyone why a plane had crashed. Chuck had a passion for the sea, tropical rainforests, and the island of Kauai. In the last years of his life, Chuck was received into the Catholic Church and found great strength through his faith.
Chuck was preceded in death by his father John Earl Johnson and his beloved cats. He is survived by his wife Louise, his mother Fay, his brother John Laurrie, his sister Karen Randy, his step children Karen Sam, Michael Heather, Bryan, David, Catherine, his nieces and nephews, and his new grandson Julian. Louise thanks especially Dr. Ali Ben-Jacob and his staff, Dr. David Reese and the nurses at Logan Regional Hospital, Dr. Stuart Wilkinson, Fr. Clarence Sandoval, Fr. J.J. Schwall, Gladys and Richard Goodwin, Maria Cordero, Richard and Tom Sherlock, John and Barbara Abbott, Suzann Winn, Rich Horrell, Frank and Joan Keepers, and all those too numerous to list who have been with her and her loved ones in this difficult time. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday, June 19, 2009 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 725 S. 250 E, Hyde Park, Utah. A vigil will be held at Nelson Funeral Home, 162 East 400 North, Logan, Thursday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., with the vigil rite by Fr. Clarence Sandoval at 7:00 p.m., and Friday, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Interment in the Smithfield City Cemetery will follow the funeral Mass. Chuck loved the simple beauty of wildflowers, and anyone who would like to bring some in hand may participate by placing wildflowers on the casket prior to burial. Because of Chuck?s profound gratitude for the presence of the Catholic Church when he made his leap of faith and surrender to God, donations to the St. Thomas Aquinas Building Fund would be greatly appreciated.