Joseph "Ben" Bennion Johanson

Ben was born February 25, 1940 in Provo, Utah to Alva Johanson and Helen Bennion Lazenby Johanson. In his early childhood, Ben lived in Provo, Utah; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Farmington, Utah. At the age of 8 he moved to Ogden, Utah, where spent the majority of his childhood. He graduated from Ogden High School in 1958. He attended Weber State Junior College for two years before joining the National Guard in 1961. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from October of 1961 to October of 1963 in the Central Atlantic States Mission, which included North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Upon his return from his mission, he started attending Weber State College, which had become a 4-year institution, while continuing to serve in the National Guard Reserve. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in Botany. He continued his education at Utah State University and graduated with a Master of Science in Plant Science in 1967. He started his career at the Hollister Seed Company in Hollister, California, followed by the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID. In 1969, he started working for the Soils Department at the University of California at Riverside as a Staff Research Associate. There he worked with several award-winning scientists until his retirement in 2002. During his 33-year tenure he received multiple Superior Performance Awards. In 1976, he married Martha “Kay” Scifres in the Los Angeles, California Temple. After living 50 years to the day in Riverside, California he moved to Bryan, Texas with his wife Kay in 2019 to be near his son Michael and his family.

Ben was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served in multiple church callings throughout his life including Young Men’s Secretary, Ward Clerk, Executive Secretary, Stake Missionary, High Priest Group Leader, and Family History Center Attendant. His hobbies included traveling, hiking, playing basketball, and reading the newspaper, especially the comics. He liked cutting his favorite comics out of the newspaper and sending them to friends all over the country. He played competitive basketball on a church team, a work team, or both, until the age of 48.
Ben is survived by his wife, Kay Johanson of Bryan, Texas; his son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Rebecca Johanson of Bryan, TX and their children: Aaron, Nathan, Rachelle, David, Isaac, and Andrew; his daughter and son-in-law Katie and Wesley Hunter of Montgomery Village, Maryland and their children: Joseph, Lydia, and Annabelle; and his sister, Carol Peterson of Huntsville, Utah.
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