March 17, 1918 – July 18, 2006
Earl E. “Jiggs” Johnson, 88, of Sweet Home, died July 18, 2006 at Wiley Creek Community in Sweet Home.
He was born in Carlton to Clyde and Jennie (Null) Johnson. He and his identical twin, Merle “Happy” Johnson, were the youngest of the couple’s eight children. Jiggs and Happy were the first set of twins in Oregon to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.
Mr. Johnson graduated from Carlton High School in 1936 and attended Oregon State University, where he obtained a degree in pharmacy in 1941. He worked his way through college by working as a commercial fisherman and logger during the summers. He was a boxer and during his college years, he and Happy were both on the Oregon State boxing team. After graduating from OSU, Jiggs opened a drug store in Sweet Home.
In 1942 he had to sell that store, as he was called to serve in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II. After his discharge from the Army, he started a drug store in Amity, where he also served as the mayor. He sold that store and worked as a commercial fisherman for a few years before moving to Warrenton, where he operated a drug store for over 30 years. He was very involved with the city and was the mayor there for several years.
Mr. Johnson was married to Mary Lou Cottingham and they had two daughters. They later divorced and he married Thelma Coyle in 1966. She died in 1999. A couple of years after her death, he got in touch with an old friend Jessie Burnett, of Sweet Home. They had dated each other in the 1940s and had even talked of marriage at that time, but wound up going their separate ways. On March 9, 2002 they were married and have lived in Sweet Home since.
Mr. Johnson was a strong supporter of the OSU Pharmacy program and a very devout OSU football fan. He held season tickets for the same seats in Reser Stadium since the stadium was built over 55 years ago.
Mr. Johnson is survived by his wife, Jessie; two daughters, Kay MacDonald of Macon, Ga., and Sue McGee of Pahoe, Hawaii; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; his twin brother Happy of Menlo Park, Calif.; step-children, Ed Winkler and Rick Burnett of Sweet Home, and Winnie Robertson of Salem; and several step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by four brothers, two sisters and a granddaughter, Logan MacDonald.
A graveside service was held July 21 with a memorial service following at Sweet Home Evangelical Church. Memorial contributions may be made to Evergreen Hospice c/o Workman & Steckly Funeral Chapel.
Workman & Steckly Funeral Chapel is handling the arrangements.