The Rev. Weyburn C. Johnson, age 94, of Garrison, ND, passed away at St Alexius Hospital in Garrison on Wednesday, July 28, 2021. 

He was born December 14, 1926, and grew up on a farm near Turtle Lake, ND. While attending high school in Turtle Lake, he took additional coursework in Chicago at Chicago Evangelistic Institute, graduating from high school in 1944. In 1947, he graduated from CEI with a degree in Sacred Literature. 

After he graduated from Greenville College, he married Dorothy Witmer from Brown City, MI whom he had dated for four years. They celebrated 70 years of marriage before Dorothy passed away on January 29, 2020. 

He was a devoted and loving father to his three sons, all born in India: Donald (Pat) of Oak Park, MI; Wayne (deceased) (Mary) of Turtle Lake, ND; David (deceased) of Springfield, IL and Carolyn (David’s ex-wife of West Chicago, IL). He is survived by nine grandchildren: Erik, Kevin (Zac), Samuel (Katy), Anna (Brent), Simone (Ryan), Sylvia, Paul (fiancee Lisa), Jared (fiancee Vanessa) and Aaron (Jennifer) and nine great-grandchildren: Alex, Sophia, Clara, Rori, Sorrel, Abigail, Finn, Ryan and Teddy Linn. 

Following marriage, Weyburn and Dorothy attended the Missionary Medical course at Biola University for one year and were accepted by the United Missionary Society (World Partners) as missionaries to India, serving for 18 years. Their duties included village evangelism, teaching and managing the Evangelical Literature Depot in Calcutta. 

In 1969, when Weyburn wanted to be more involved in his sons’ lives, the Johnsons returned to the United States.  In 1973, the couple moved to Wheaton, IL. During his time in IL, he worked for Bibles for the World, Lyon & Healy, and the Evangelical Training Association. For the last 10 years before retiring, he worked as Director of Business Affairs for Christ Church of Oak Brook. In October, 2013, they moved to Minot, ND, to be near family and continued ministering at Vincent United Methodist Church. 

Weyburn spent time staying in touch with family and friends via phone, letter, email, and Zoom. All who knew him felt his warmth and love for people. He had a great love for world missions and contributed to many parachurch organizations. 

His memorial service in ND will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2021, at 11:00 am at Vincent United Methodist Church in Minot. His interment will be at 3:00 pm at the Riverview Cemetery in Washburn. A memorial service for Weyburn and Dorothy will take place in MI in the summer of 2022.  Details to follow. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Weyburn may be sent to The Philip Endowed Scholarship Fund, Taylor University, 236 W Reade Ave., Upland, IN; World Partners USA, PO Box 9127, Fort Wayne, IN 46899 or to The Clean Water Well Project organized by the India Gospel League: https://give.iglworld.org/campaign/51764/weyburn-johnson-clean-water-well-with-storage-tank-2. 

“Whoever wishes to save their life will lose it; but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”  Jesus