David Francis Johnson, 73, of Port Hadlock, Washington, passed away while surrounded by family on the morning of Jan. 24, 2022. He had been battling Pancreatic cancer for more than 4 1/2 years. Dave will be dearly missed by his wife of 42 years, Peggy Johnson; son Jarred and wife Michaela; son Jeremy and wife Hannah; and three grandchildren Nolan, Logan, and Abigail.
Dave was born in Yakima, Washington in 1949 and grew up near Chinook Pass. Dave retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 2007 as the head of fire and aviation for the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Throughout his 39-year career, he responded to many national emergencies as an Incident Commander of Washington State Team 4. He also spent time in Washington, D.C. where he wrote some of the original legislation for the AmeriCorps program and traveled to India to develop Disaster Response plans with the Indian Government.
David was an avid fisherman throughout his life and passionately returned to hunting deer when his sons reached adulthood. He was known for being a kind and social person that loved to regale you in stories. He was very quick to make friends and would often joke that “strangers were friends he just hadn’t met yet.” Later in life, he and Peggy joined the Rhody O’s and the 4+4 square dance clubs where they made many wonderful friendships and spent much of their free time.
Dave lived a life of service and will be remembered throughout the community for his involvement umpiring Little League baseball games, working with ECCHO, volunteering at the Chimacum fire station and the PT homeless shelter. He also loved God and the congregation at First Baptist Church.
For the past eight years, Dave served as a Commissioner for East Jefferson Fire and Rescue. His legacy could be many things with EJFR, but he would like to be known for always putting firefighters first. In that vein, the family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation https://wff.givecloud.co/products/DONATE-QUICK/donatetoday.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
