The Memorial Service for Lane L. Johnson, age 59 of Hettinger, will be held at 10:30am Monday, October 1, 2012 at the Centennial Chapel of the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger. Rev. Jerry Erickson will officiate with inurnment in Greenhill Cemetery at Lemmon.

Lane passed away on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger.

Lane was born June 9, 1953 at Elgin, ND to Chester and Lavona (Smith) Johnson, joining an older brother, Neal. Lane seemed to spend most of his early years on his toy tractor or trike, with a toy in his hand and his lopsided grin on his face. He was raised and baptized a member of the Bethel Lutheran Church in Morristown, SD. He attended grade school at Knoke School, completing all eight grades there. He was taught by his mother, Lavona. He went fishing with his dad and his cousins Ronnie & Donnie, rode bike, and had a mini- bike. He enjoyed building model ships, cars, etc. that usually got destroyed in some untimely way afterwards. There was also a York Turnabout tractor, purchased for plowing the garden, but Lane had so much fun with it, that it didn't get used much for that purpose. He attended Lemmon High School, graduating in 1971. He was a good student in high school. He belonged to the rifle club, mixed chorus, and enjoyed his math and science classes. He had the same friends all through high school, doing homework together, working on vehicles, tearing them down, and putting them back together. More often than not, there were extra pieces left over. In high school he ordered radios by mail and put them together. During his senior year or right after, he got his first motorcycle, a Honda that he painted like a flag with stars and stripes. He put quite a bit of work into that bike and was very proud of it. Shortly after his senior year he went to work for Don and Helen Benson on their ranch which was one of the biggest highlights of his life.


In 2002 or 2003 he went to live and work with Bill Witt and Rob Windmueller at their shop in Montrose, CO. During that time, he rebuilt himself a 1967 Dura ride Harley Davidson motorcycle. He loved riding his bike which was one of his favorite things to do. Bill & Rob cared for Lane for as long as they were able. They then made arrangements for him to go to Delta House, an assisted living establishment in downtown Delta, CO, where he resided for two years. In 2010, Lane was diagnosed with progressive supra nuclear palsy and decided he wanted to be closer to his sister, Linda. In August of that year, the director of Delta House drove him to the nursing home in Hettinger, which was his home until Sunday, September 16, 2012.
Surviving family members include his brother, Neal (Barb) Johnson, Bismarck, ND; sister, Linda (Bruce) Verhulst, Reeder, ND; niece, Tia Johnson, Fargo, ND; nephew, Tyler Johnson, Bismarck, ND; niece, Shaya Finchem, Stanberry, MO; great nephew, Austin and great nieces, Nikole and Allison.


He was preceded in death by his parents, and 1 sister, Lee Ann.