Carl Maurice Johnson

Carl Maurice Johnson, 74, of Shelley, Idaho died on September 18th, 2024 at EIRMC Hospital in Idaho Falls.

He was born November 17, 1949 to Maurice Johnson and Doris Kirkham. He grew up in Shelley on the Johnson Family Farm home learning the values that would make him the man he would become. From being shot in the head with a pellet gun to throwing mud balls at passing cars from the canal that ran in front of the farm home, his exploits and adventures would eventually be told to his children at bedtime. Carl was a popular high school athlete playing basketball and football when he wasn’t listening to the Four Seasons. He went on to serve an honorable full-time Spanish-speaking mission in Los Angeles, California. He had a lifelong impact on many of those he served with.

On March 15th, 1974, Carl married his sweetheart Rosetta Laree Taggart in the Idaho Falls Temple. Together they shared a dream. Laughter would one day echo through the halls of their humble home. Their children would bask in the glow of each festive season. They would fill their children’s lives with songs, stories and adventures. They would teach their children resilience in the face of struggle. The nourishing springtime of their love would see them plant a seed and the deep reds and yellows of the fall would see their harvest. Love would be their legacy. And while many of their hopes would go unfulfilled, their dream came true.

Carl’s aim was to bring joy to those around him. To protect those who needed protecting. To shed light on truth. To climb the highest mountain. To know and hear and laugh with every person he met. His passion was living and he literally woke each day with a song. Each moment of his life was dictated by who he could help, where he could find connection, and who he could serve. He’d respond to the smallest of impressions and was generous to a fault. Having walked himself through the valley of the shadow of death, he stood as a light to those who suffered in the dark. Until his dying day, he walked with his head high and his back straight.

Carl’s commanding presence dominated every room he entered. But his presence was one of love and kindness and not one of intimidation. His resounding voice was meant to penetrate the reaches of the furthest pew. He had less interest in the saint; his passion was to rehabilitate the sinner. A loving and caring shepard, he’d roam the darkest hours of the night looking for his lost sheep.

Never one to delegate the harder task, he was a leader remembered for his presence in the trenches and he taught his children the enduring value of an honest effort. A stalwart member of the Church, he served in a variety of callings in different auxiliaries. He considered none of them any more important than the other but he was most keenly remembered for his leadership as Bishop during times of great tension and strife. In 1997, Grand Forks, ND experienced what would be to that point the largest evacuation in the history of the United States due to the flooding of the Red River. With emergency sirens blaring in the distance, Carl said goodbye to his family as he stayed behind to organize and orchestrate a significant and overwhelming relief effort that would eventually revitalize the ravaged city. As an employer, civic servant, and spiritual leader, his purview wasn’t limited to the members of the church; he provided support and service to the entire city. He was someone who led from the bottom, strengthening the feeble knees and lifting the weak from the mire.

Carl and Laree moved back to Idaho in their later years to reunite with family and friends. Carl loved to see many of the people he group up with but continued to forge new relationships that would last for the rest of his life. Ailments that started when he was a child began to plague him at this time and had a profound impact on his ability to complete the simplest of tasks. Undaunted, Carl persevered and lived his life to the very end unencumbered by them. After literally dozens of surgerys, Carl was faced with the prospect of being confined to a small room. But Carl would not be denied the life he desired. Somehow, he became more social and independent than ever, boggling the minds of everyone who knew him.

Survivors include his wife, Laree Johnson of Shelley, four children and their spouses, Michael Johnson and Marisa Tolman Johnson, Chris Johnson and Tasha Byzewski, Janie and Jeremy Hess, and David and Leighanne Johnson, 16 grandchildren, and his loving brother and sisters and their families. He was preceded in death by his son, Jonathan, and his parents, Maurice and Doris, and his grandson Maurice Carl Johnson.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Friday, September 27, 2024 at the Shelley Fourth Ward Chapel, 184 North Park Ave. The family will receive friends Thursday evening from 6:00 till 7:30 p.m. at Nalder Funeral Home, 110 West Oak Street, in Shelley and Friday from 9:30 a.m. till 10:45 a.m. at the church. Burial will be in the Shelley Hillcrest Cemetery.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.nalderfuneralhome.com.