We're very sad to inform you that Dennis Johnson passed away from brain cancer on Tuesday, October 29. Dennis lived in Everett, Washington and served as an Army Ranger in Vietnam. At this time we don't have any information about a memorial but will update this announcement if we receive that information.
Carl (Chuck) Munson
This one hits kind of hard, but was not a surprise. About three months ago I bumped into Spider (since Viet Nam he preferred the nickname "Spider") when getting on an elevator at the Seattle VA hospital. He recognized me; I did not recognize him, and all that implies. We had last seen each other about a year and half ago. He told me he was being treated for cancer, which had obviously taken its toll, and thought he'd beaten it. Not so. Very sad. The nickname Spider was pinned on him by an officer in 'Nam because Spider wasn't afraid of anything...except spiders. The officer was killed, but the name stuck. Spider wouldn't want me to say this, but he was a hero. Truly. Army Ranger. As combat veterans say, he had "been through the shit." POW, escaped, caught by the VC, tortured. Near death. He told me some of things they did. Sick stuff. Three purple hearts. Everything the Seattle VA (excellent hospital) did for him, he earned. At Edmonds, he was our best defensive end (evident in practice), tenacious, strong and fast, although he did not play much defensive end. He was our kicker although he said he couldn't quite understand why. A great athlete in any event, and a great person. Big heart. Wonderful sense of humor. Loved to laugh. If I were to film a movie scene where everyone had to laugh long and loud, I'd be sure to cast Spider and brother (another story) Don Kaylor. When those two began laughing, it was infectious. Spider made the world a better place. The soul behind his big heart and laughter, missed here, will fit in nicely where he is now.
Steven Shirey
I was telling a Dennis Johnson story to my wife just this week. He will always be with us.