Clayton Johnson Sr., 88, of Brookings died Friday, Aug. 4, 2017, at the Arlington Care Center in Arlington.
Funeral services are at 2 p.m. Friday at Eidsness Funeral Home. Visitation is one hour prior to the service.
Clayton R. Johnson was born Nov. 2, 1928, to William Henry and Mary (Myrtle) Johnson in rural Jamestown, Tenn. Clayton married Betty Davis on Nov. 18, 1950. They started their family in Muncie, Ind., and in 1962, they moved to California. In 1985, Betty and Clayton moved to South Dakota where they eventually settled in Brookings. They had been living at Sunchase Apartments; a place in which they loved dearly. Betty died on July 1, 2017, at which time, Clayton moved to the Arlington Care Center.
Clayton worked many years in the dairy industry as a plant manager. Many of those years were spent at Swiss Dairy in California. Clayton was an extremely hard worker. He loved to joke around and was very non-judgmental towards everyone. Clayton enjoyed singing and writing poems for his family.
Survivors include his children, Donna Cohen of Holidaysburg, Pa., Nancy (Terry) Swenson of Elkton and Sharon Kay Johnson of Gary; daughter-in-law, Diana Johnson of Riverside, Calif.; a sister, Zola Richmond of Muncie, Ind.; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews, including one very close nephew, Jay Harold Johnson.
Clayton was preceded in death by his wife, Betty; two sons, Tony and Clayton, Jr.; three brothers, Clifford, Cli
