Jeffrey Mark Johnson

We want to share some things about Jeff that we think are pretty amazing.

Due to Jeff’s Spina Bifida, Jeff’s legs and body strength were delayed and he finally gained the strength to walk at the age of 3. We were so proud of him for his willpower and determination to conquer this daunting task. We were also relieved for ourselves because we had toted him around for 3 years.

It was difficult for him to keep his balance and one day while in kindergarten, Jeff took a spill and hit the side of his chin on a cradle. It required over 100 stitches, resulting in the large Nike swoosh shaped scar that he was so proud of.

Jeff had an amazing and infectious smile right from the get go. He could and would melt anyone and everyone’s heart with his smile. He also had a very sensitive stomach and anytime he would get excited he would vomit, thus ending in a full mouth of damaged baby teeth. By the time he was 3, 7 of his front teeth were capped in silver, making his smile that much more bright and shiny.

Jeff had the best Jokes. A couple jokes he told when he was younger were Where do the Cows go on Saturday Night? To the MOOO….VIES. Another one was What flower grows between your nose and chin? TWO LIPS.

When Jeff was little he was fascinated by fire just like most little boys. We called him a little pyro and had to watch him carefully around fire, especially when we were camping. One night, when Jeff was about 5 years old, the family was upstairs watching TV and noticed he was missing. Me and Jami went downstairs looking for him and found him in the bathroom standing, watching as flames in garbage can shot up past the toilet. I yelled “Fire” and quickly doused the fire with water, while Jami ran to get the rest of the family.

If you know my dad, everyone in our family has a nickname. It took some time for Jeff to get his, but while Jeff watched his older sisters participate in High School basketball, his nickname “turbo” emerged. Anyone who is close to Jeff calls him “turbo.”

Jeff attended Woodruff Elementary School, where he stole the hearts of all the staff members. Then he attended Mount Logan Middle School and guess what, he stole the hearts of more staff there, including the Principle. It didn’t stop there, Logan High staff all knew more about Jeff than his teachers. At Logan High, Jeff took a jewelry class, where he made an elk ivory ring. He entered it into a contest and won! He graduated from Logan High School in 2010. This August he started taking classes at Utah State University in the Aggies Elevated Program. He wasn’t too excited about attending classes again, but knew that this was a great opportunity to further his education. He was able to live on campus, meet new people, and experience the college life. He was doing great in his classes. He really enjoyed his instructors and had a great bond with them.

Jeff really loved sports. When he was young he would spend hours shooting hoops. His favorite sports teams were the Utah Jazz and the Utah State Aggies. He would make sure to watch every game and could quote the stats of player and games.

Jeff started his employment working at Camp Fife (a boy scout camp) one summer when he was 17. His next job was for Logan City Parks and Recreation Department. He was currently working at Sportsman’s Warehouse in the Hunting Department. He loved the guys whom he worked with so much. They made his job so enjoyable. He was often going in early to visit with his co-workers or even on his days off.

Jeff idolized our dad and wanted nothing more than to be just like him. Our dad wanted nothing more than to have his son to follow is footsteps, so when Jeff was old enough, guess what Jeff got for Christmas…… a BB gun. Well, one day when dad and Jeff were down at the field, dad was repairing the fence, and Jeff decided go off to shoot some birds. Little did dad know Jeff was actually practicing his marksmanship on the bail wagon and camper windows.

Jeff was a mini version of our dad. His biggest passion was hunting. When he first started hunting on horses, he would get so excited when he saw a deer that he would dive off the horse. When Jeff first started hunting, the horse he rode was Billy Buck and he loved him. Even after Billy Buck passed away, Jeff compared other horses to him. Billy Buck took such good care of Jeff. Jeff was able to purchase his very own horse, Chester about five years ago. Chester, too, took very good care of Jeff on hunting trips.

Jeff has harvested 14 Utah deer, 5 Idaho deer, 7 elk, 2 Wyoming antelope. He was a successful big game hunter. As soon as one hunt was over, the excitement for the next hunt began. Jeff was right handed but shot left handed. He was an excellent shot and loved the challenge of long range shooting. One time he took a deer at 720 yards. Jeff had an extensive firearm array. Working at Sportsman’s definitely contributed to the collection. He also really enjoyed reloading ammo.

He loved hunting pheasants, ducks, turkeys, and swans. Just this past year he was able to be on TV with Adam Eakle hunting swans. He lived for hunting season and we could go on for hours telling HIS hunting stories.

Jeff loved to trap. He would trap raccoons, badgers, and even our barn cats. One time when trying to trap the barn cats so we could take them to the humane society, he caught 3 raccoons on our front porch. All our neighbors would call him when they needed something trapped.

Jeff had a huge interest in Taxidermy. He loved the process of skinning and tanning the hides and putting them back together. Recently, he had become very good at bleaching skulls for European mounts. In fact, these mounts were so successful he couldn’t wait to show his classmates and co-workers. He also loved to process his wild game. He loved to smoke and dry the meat into Jerky and salami and share it with his family and friends.

Jeff couldn’t wait until he was big enough to start helping our dad on the farm, especially when he could learn how to drive the tractors. He first started raking hay on the old 1955 tractor and eventually graduated to the Ford 7000. Then he was even privileged to run the Allis Chalmers. One day he was disking in a field, in a circle, when he made a complete round, he started to see parts off the disc in the field. It didn’t take him long to notice that something was wrong and dad and him were able to find all the parts and put the disc back together. He loved to help dad and was a great tractor driver. Jeff owned 4 beef cows and raised their calves each year.

Jeff has 4 nieces who adored him. He was the first person Jade (my daughter) would ask for when she came to Mendon to visit. He loved to be around them and help us watch them.

In his short time with us on Earth, he touched many lives, many of which he didn’t even know he had touched. Jeff hated confrontation and would be the Peacemaker. He didn’t like seeing anyone who was angry or upset. He always wore his heart on his sleeve. Jeff was very protective of his family and would do anything for them.

Jeffrey, we love you so incredibly much. We will miss you every single minute of every single day. We will miss the little things like:

when you laughed so hard the veins in your forehead would pop out how you could sneeze 15 times in a row when you could eat 6 hots dogs in one sitting we will miss the sound of your pepsi can cracking open every morning we will miss your wonderful smile and so will everyone and how the tv was always tuned to a sports game

Thank you Jeffrey for being a great son and brother. We are better people because of you. Your strength and courage was beyond measure. We are so proud of you and your example of bravery and unconditional love. We will always cherish the memories we have with you.

Jeffrey, we can’t wait to see you again. We can picture it now and you are glorious.