HARRY O. JOHNSON, 89, died on Sunday, 8/1/2010, at his residence in Bothell, WA under the care of his family and caregivers. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, 8/12/10 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 3030 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004.
Arrangements are entrusted to Barton Funeral Home, Kirkland, WA and an on-line memorial is available at: www.bartonfuneral.com . Harry’s family would greatly appreciate stories/remembrances from friends and family.
Harry is preceded in death by his adoptive parents, Ole and Hilda Johnson of Abercrombie, ND, infant sister, Josephine; his biological parents, Harold Purdie and Ida Kobbervig (MN); first wife, Mae Johnson; grandson, Michael Hope Johnson; and second wife, Dawna Johnson.
Harry is survived by: his four children Jim (Kay) Johnson (Butte, MT), Steve (Stephanie) Johnson (Kirkland, WA), Vicki Potter (Woodinville, WA), and Diane (Chris Leen) Johnson (Woodinville, WA); seven grandchildren, Christi Daniels, Kim Johnson and Debbie Rafferty (Jim); Eric Johnson and Amy Johnson (Steve); Dan Potter and Nick Potter (Vicki); six great-grandchildren; half-sister, Maxine Hoot (Indiana); several nieces and nephews, several extended family members in Minnesota, and close friends.
1927
Harry was born on January 30, 1921 in Fargo, ND to Harold Purdie and Ida Kobbervig and was adopted as an infant by Ole and Hilda Johnson of Abercrombie, ND, who raised him as their own and loved him dearly. He attended the Abercrombie public school system and graduated from Abercrombie High School in 1938. In 1939, Harry joined the Civilian Conservation Corp with his best friend, Corrie Snyder. He married Mae Klubberud on 1/11/1941. Together they lived on and worked the family farm, began raising the three oldest children there, and moved to Washington State in 1953, where the fourth child was born; all were raised in Kirkland, WA. In 1976, he married Dawna Alley and they resided in Bothell for many years. Harry worked as a machinist in the Seattle area and later became an Associate Broker in real estate in the Kirkland area. Harry and Dawna enjoyed traveling the country and spending winters in Yuma, Death Valley, and Mexico.
As a young boy and young man, Harry sang at the majority of weddings and funerals in his home town of Abercrombie; later he also sang at his children’s weddings. Harry began playing the fiddle at the age of seven. When he was 11, he bought a guitar for $3.98 and would play along with his cousin, Helmer Amundsen, to learn the old Norwegian tunes. Harry packed up his family and headed west in the wake of the devastating floods of 1953, settling in Kirkland, WA, just east of Seattle. He had no connection to the local fiddling community until the day he followed the sound of sweet music to a barber shop. Harry became a regular session member and would hum Helmer’s old tunes for the others to learn and play. One fateful day, the fiddle was handed to Harry and he was hooked again. He was soon surrounded by friends who lent him records and tapes and joined him for jam sessions. In ND, Harry had listened to American and Canadian fiddle music on the radio “with those fast hoedowns, but we didn’t know what that was, in my country, so I ignored it.” Now, he began learning them, along with other tunes common to the local fiddlers’ repertoire. In 1970, Harry stopped in Weiser, Idaho on the way to a family vacation in ND. The national fiddle contest was in full swing and he left with tunes running through his head. When he retired in the mid-1970s, Harry took to traveling and met many more musicians. Harry 
was chosen to represent Pacific NW Fiddling at the 1976 Smithsonian Folklife Festival during the 
Bicentennial celebrations. He has recorded several albums, has won countless fiddle contests across the country, and was a strong competitor at the National Oldtime Fiddle Contests in Weiser, Idaho each year since 1972. The City of Bothell proclaimed 7/6/1998 as “Harry Johnson Champion Fiddler Day”. On 12/1/1998 Evening Magazine, a local TV program, devoted a show to his fiddling, including substantial interviews with Harry’s wife, Dawna, with her beautiful flower garden as a backdrop for the show.
Despite Harry’s multiple medical issues over the past few years, he consistently welcomed visits and phone calls from friends, and would fiddle whenever an opportunity arose. He valued the time spent with his children to the very end and he will be missed dearly.
Harry is survived by: his four children Jim (Kay) Johnson (Butte, MT), Steve (Stephanie) Johnson (Kirkland, WA), Vicki Potter (Woodinville, WA), and Diane (Chris Leen) Johnson (Woodinville, WA); seven grandchildren, Christi Daniels, Kim Johnson and Mrs. Nick (Debbie) Rafferty (Jim); Eric Johnson and Amy Johnson (Steve); Dan Potter and Nick Potter (Vicki); six great-grandchildren; half-sister, Maxine Hoot (Indiana); several nieces and nephews, several extended family members in Minnesota, special friend Rilla Clem, and other close friends.
The family wishes to thank Harry’s awesome and compassionate health care professionals at Evergreen Hospital, who helped him to stay in good health for many, many years, and to staff at Cascade Vista in Redmond, who contributed to Dad’s comfort and well-being during the last month of his life.
Memorials may be sent to Emmanual Lutheran Church (cemetery fund), Abercrombie, ND 58001 or to the Harry Johnson Memorial Fund, c/o John Grundstrom, Washington Oldtime Fiddlers Association, 108 Ironwood Place, East Wenatchee, WA 98802.