We lost a good man today as we’ve lost so many lately.  Most people knew him as TV Doc or the TV guy.  He came into your home and hooked up that new television and later kept it going.  When the Dish came online, he hooked that up, too and amazed us at instant programming with just a phone call. He loved to visit and when you came into his shop downtown you could always count on a joke, a hearty greeting or a discussion of the topic of the day.

 

But there was more to Dean Johnson than just TV Doc.  First and foremost, Dean was a Christian and he brought that right along with him.  Never pushy with his faith, Dean was ready to answer questions or join a discussion with the guys at the coffee shop.  An adult Sunday School teacher for many, many, years, Dean was at home with the Bible and knew its contents almost by heart.

 

He was a Church elder as well as a teacher and he and wife, Hilda, a teacher of children, always sat on the west side, first with their children, then just the two of them. He worked with the several preachers who pastored the Church over the years, visiting the sick and taking Communion to shut-ins. 

 

The committees he chaired and many other things could be added, but now he has gone home and he will be missed down here even as we rejoice to know that he is excited and happy to be where he always knew he was going.  The passing of a Christian friend or family member is always bittersweet.  It is OK to grieve for the presence of that one we loved so much, but soon that grief is replaced by memories of his or her faith and the knowledge of the following Scripture: 

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things God hath prepared for them that love them.” 

I Cor. 2: 9.

 

 God prepared it.  Dean Believed it.  And now he is experiencing it.  And that is a good think to think about.

               

c. 2012 Donna Swanson