Milford (Mel) Pierre Johnson

Milford (Mel) Pierre Johnson (Aug. 28, 1921--April 24, 2017)
Mel was the second of four children born to Mason Pierre and Johanne Amundson Johnson He was born on a farm near Lake Emily in Minnesota and would often tell stories from his youth on the farm. Mel enjoyed going to the local one-room schoolhouse and, later attended Deer River High School, where he stayed in a dormitory during the week until he graduated in 1941. Mel was drafted into the Army Air Forces in 1943, where he learned to be a radio engineer. He spent some time in Europe during the later years of WWII. He often told stories about his time during the war.
After the war, he graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and made his way west in search of employment. He met Zeta Marie Cammack, a nurse, in San Francisco. Mel and Zeta were married in Sacramento on May 1, 1954. Mel and Zeta had four children: Dean, Carl, Jonelle and Janet. In addition to being a dutiful fan of his children's and then his grandchildren's sports, Mel loved the SF Giants and 49ers. Mel worked as a civilian engineer at McClellan AFB and was an active volunteer in SIRS and Red Cross clinics. He was a devoted family man throughout his life.