Stewart Johnson of Naples, Fla., died Dec. 30, 2024, after a challenging few years dealing with the fallout from an aggressive form of melanoma. He was 73 and lived a full life that included positions in pharmaceutical and surgical equipment sales and marketing, and a mid-career change to accounting. A love of travel led him to pursue multiple cross-country and overseas adventures later in life, many of them on his beloved motorcycle.
Stewart was born on Valentine’s Day 1951 in Oelwein, Iowa, to Rodney and Helen Lounsberry Johnson. He moved to Clarion, Iowa, in the early 1960s with his parents and two older brothers when his father was hired by Ray Hagie to be general manager of Hagie Manufacturing. He graduated in 1969 from Clarion High School, where he lettered in football, wrestling and golf, and earned an undergraduate degree in business at the University of Iowa in 1973 and an MBA from St. Louis University. His business experience included working for Abbott Labs in sales and after becoming CPA, he was a partner and co-owner of the Bahr and Karley accounting firm in Burlington, Wis
He married Dawn Doehoffer in 1984 after being introduced to her by their mutual friend and settled in Chicago’s north suburbs, first in Buffalo Grove then in Libertyville. After Dawn’s death far too early from breast cancer, he eventually relocated to Florida.
Stewart had a love of learning about different cultures in his travels around the world, including Cambodia, India, Europe and South America and all over the United States. He took pride in having visited nearly all of the U.S. presidential libraries and loved weekend trips on his motorcycle as a member of a motorcycle club in Chicago. One of his motorcycle trips through Spain was challenging because of the winding roads and hills. Later in life he discovered the joys of pickleball and made numerous friends in the pickleball world. He enjoyed being out on the water whether it was the Gulf of Mexico or Lake Geneva. Like his father, he enjoyed flying planes and was an expert on aviation. His favorite dogs were his black labs, Abby and Gretchen. Stewart was happy when he moved to Naples and no longer had to shovel snow. He also appreciated fast cars, his Corvettes, motorcycles, chess, Gunsmoke, the Iowa Hawkeye football team and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Proceeding him in death were his parents, Rodney and Helen Johnson. Survivors include his brothers Randy (Linda) of Overland Park, Kan., and David (Ellen) Johnson of Morrison, Co., one niece and many nephews, and numerous cousins and close friends throughout the country. Special thanks go to his friend Judy Mansueto, who served as his health care surrogate, and to Assisting Hands of Naples, especially Yousseline, who cared for him with much kindness.
He will be buried in Lakeside Cemetery in Libertyville, Ill, next to his wife Dawn. A memorial service will be held in the Chicago area in late spring.
