Gordon Johnson

Gordon Johnson, 94, of Grand Island, formerly of Aurora, passed away Friday, July 31, 2026 at the Heritage at Sagewood in Grand Island. 
A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 22 at Pleasant View Bible Church in Aurora.   Rev. Bob Gannon will officiate.   No visitation.  Private family Inurnment will be in the Aurora Cemetery.   Memorials may be made to Pleasant View Bible Church in Aurora.   Condolences may be sent to the family through the mortuary website at www.higbymortuary.com.  The service will be livestreamed on the Pleasant View Bible Church website. 
Dr. Gordon Ohrvall Johnson, the son of Rev.  Oscar Alvin Johnson and  Thelma Wilhelmina Ohrvall Johnson, grew up in parsonage homes in Somers, WI; Kenosha, WI., Kewanee, IL., and  Phillips, NE. His worst memories were of the “ knickers” he had to  wear from the donated clothing his family was given. He made life-long friends at Aurora High School and  graduated there in 1950. He attended Wheaton College  of Wheaton, IL and   had obtained the credits to enter the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in 1953. On June 21,1955 he married Janice Rae Springer. 
In college he enrolled in a program  with the United States Air Force which provided his tuition and a stipend. He was stationed at Offutt AFB, Bellevue. Following graduation with  honors in 1957 he interned at Immanuel Deaconess Hospital of Omaha. In 1959 he was sent with his wife and two sons to Wethersfield AFB, England, where he provided medical care for military families of the 20th TAC AFB till 1962. His military tour of duty was completed with one year at Lincoln Air Force Base, Lincoln. He then joined the Fairbury Medical Clinic, in Fairbury, where his third son was born and he practiced medicine from 1963-1989. He  was beloved by the community. For ten years following this time, Gordon filled positions where doctors (locum tenens) were needed in 37 communities across the country.
In each place he quickly formed relationships with personnel and  patients and they were  reluctant to see him leave. During  this time he was diagnosed with cancer and following recovery from surgery went back to work while taking chemo treatments. He was a gifted diagnostician and pioneered in work with Ultrasound technology in Nebraska. In his career he delivered nearly  1,000 babies, did surgeries, laboratory supervision and  was especially interested in fluoroscopy and radiology studies.  He was consulted often by his partners and other colleagues. His extended family depended on his medical advice. He loved music and  singing, and playing an auto-harp to accompany his Swedish songs. Gordon loved making trips and working on the farm. His three boys Gregg, Bruce and Nate were his pride and joy. He cherished his wife. 
Gordon had accepted Christ in his life at an early age and devoted his life to the care  of people. He taught Sunday School, served in various church offices and led the choir. At the time of his death he was a member of the Pleasant View Bible Church. He served many years on the Board of Fairbury Schools and  the Fairbury College. He was a member  of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor  Society, the Christian Medical Society, the American Medical Assoc., and was a charter member of the American Board  of Family Practice. He moved to Aurora in 1994 and retired from medical practice in 1997.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Dorothy Ann Loftin and brother, Glenn Johnson. 
Those who remain to cherish his memory are his wife Janice of Grand Island; three sons, Gregg E. (Ruth) Johnson of River Grove, IL, Bruce A. (Kerry) Johnson of Aurora, CO and Nate W. Johnson of St. Charles, MO; five grandchildren, Elizabeth (Joe) Hammon, Erik (Amanda) Johnson, Kian Johnson (Ash Zeitler), Caleb (Lydia) Johnson and Kayla Mae Johnson and five great-grandchildren, Lily Hammon, Thomas Hammon, Bradleigh Johnson, Maddox Johnson and Eva Johnson   He is also survived by many other family members and friends.