Richard (Ric) DeLayne Johnson

Ric Johnson (age 67) died on April 21, 2023 in Victoria, BC from a brain injury sustained in a cycling accident three weeks earlier.  He was born in Twin Falls, Idaho to Charles (Chuck) and Myrna Johnson.

Ric graduated from Twin Falls High School and after graduation studied at Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, ID.  It was there that he met the love of his life, Carol Ann (Unger) and they were married on September 1, 1979.  After almost 44 years of marriage, they were still in their honeymoon phase!  They were each other’s rock, confidant, friend and love to the end.

He was preceded in death by his father in 2018 and is survived by his wife Carol Ann, daughter Emily (Sean Lange) and son Dan (Rae Feltis); his mother Myrna Johnson and sisters Connie Canning and Val (Gary) Martin.

Ric earned his PhD from the University of Iowa in Psychology (Decision Making) and taught for 28 years at the University of Alberta in the School of Business where he also served as Chair of the Department of Marketing.  He assumed the role of Vice Dean at the Augustana campus of the University of Alberta in Camrose from 2009 until his retirement in 2014.  He was a mentor and encourager to many undergraduate and graduate students.

Ric and Carol Ann moved to Victoria, BC in 2016 and were enjoying retirement.  They travelled extensively and visited all of the 50 United States and 10 Canadian provinces as well as England, Scotland, France, Italy & Austria.  Ric also travelled to China with students and colleagues in 2007.  At the time of his death, they were still planning more trips.

Everyone who knew Ric knew how much he loved baseball – a love that he shared with his father.  Ric saw at least one game in all of the 30 Major League stadiums.  Some have been stadiums have been replaced and plans were in the works to visit the new stadiums as well.  He also attended the All-Star Game in Detroit (2005) and a World Series game in Colorado (2007) with his father which was a dream come true for both of them.

Among his other hobbies were making stained glass, solving NYT crossword puzzles, craft beer (making and drinking!), family genealogy which he inherited from his father as they explored the Johnson history back to the 1600s – the list goes on but MUSIC was paramount.

Ric’s love of music goes back to an early age.  He sang in school, church and community choirs wherever he lived.  He sang and acted in Gilbert & Sullivan productions and most recently was a member of South Island Harmony Barbershop Chorus.  He loved all kinds of music from Blues to Country to Classical to Jazz to Bluegrass to Rock – everything!  He loved variety in all that he did but he was most drawn to Folk music.  For many years he was a dedicated volunteer at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.  He played the ukulele and was learning to play guitar.

His family meant everything to him.  He was kind, generous, humble and loving.  His smile was genuine and he had a quick wit and sense of humour.  His jokes were always accompanied by a twinkle in his eye as he saw the delight and joy it brought to others.  He was a good listener and problem solver, respected at home and work for his fairness and kindness.

Ric loved to volunteer and after retirement found opportunities to do just that.  He served on the Board of many of them – Gilbert & Sullivan (Board member and co-produced “The Mikado”), South Island Harmony Barbershop (President and a darn good baritone!), San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (Guide as well as operating the Live Web Cams), Great Canadian Beer Festival (Greeter and Ticket Seller), Victoria Tourism (Greeter of the cruise ships to Victoria) and Vice-President of his condo council.

Ric will be forever and always missed.

Condolences may be offered to the family below.

McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com