Daniel Johnson

Daniel Milo Johnson, 80, of Toledo, Ohio, passed away in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at his home. Dan Johnson was born on June 10th, 1940, in Springfield Ohio, to Hilda and Everett Johnson. He loved his dear wife of 59 years, Elaine, his family, children, and grandchildren. There was no secret to understanding Dan Johnson. Whether you knew him as a husband, father, grandfather, board member, administrator or university president, Dan Johnson cared about people, their communities, and creating opportunities to improve their lives in meaningful ways. With all of the problems and complexity of our lives today, Dan Johnson was forever hopeful, loving and optimistic. Those who knew him professionally could easily recognize in him the same gentleness and warmth known so well by his family. His family also saw in him, daily, the energy, integrity and discipline that fueled his desire to work toward solutions for the challenges facing our communities here in Northwest Ohio and around the world. He did not need to remove one hat to put on another: they were one and the same. His intellectual energy and curiosity never waned, and it carried him to ever expanding roles in community service and higher education, fostering collaborations and partnerships between universities, government, and industry. As president of the University of Toledo, he led the successful effort in 2006 to merge the Medical University of Ohio with UT, creating the third-largest university in the state. In a career that spanned nearly six decades, and universities in Illinois, Virginia, Texas, Alaska, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as here in Toledo Ohio, Dan Johnson worked hard to create access to higher education for students and place universities into the service of their communities. In each instance he and his beloved wife, Elaine, and their boys became a part of the community and so many communities became a part of his family. He was a great romantic, as seen in every card and poem he wrote for his wife, Elaine; every gift imagined, scouted, and shared with her. Together their moments became stories. Neither one of them knew a story the other did not. They laughed together for 60 years. Dan Johnson was a gentle man who enjoyed simple pleasures and was always a lover of life — life’s grand projects and its small moments, its mystery and its things most counted on. He was a collector of bookends. He loved ice cream in all its forms and always found it sweeter when enjoyed with friends. He cherished the beauty of every sunrise. To laugh with him was to love him. He will be dearly missed. Daniel Johnson is survived by his wife, Elaine Clark-Johnson; sons, Darin and Brent Johnson; brother, Mark Johnson, and four grandchildren. Public visitation with appropriate social distancing will be held Monday, July 6th, from 3:00 pm until 9:00 pm. at Walker Funeral Home, 5155 W. Sylvania Avenue. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Cherry Street Mission 1501 Monroe St Toledo OH, 43604 or The E.M. & Estella Clark Award for Excellence in Teaching, Scholarship and Service Evangel University 1111 N Glenstone Ave Springfield, MO 65802 (an award endowed Dr. and Mrs. Daniel M. Johnson)