David John Johnson, 80, died of cancer on Thursday, November 21, 2024 in an Albuquerque, New Mexico area hospital.

He was born in Watertown, South Dakota on December 14, 1943 to Clifford and Victoria (Fogelberg) Johnson. He was named after his maternal grandfather David Fogelberg and paternal grandfather John Johnson. He lived most of his first eight years, along with younger sisters Mary Ann and Vivian, on a farm near Ortley, SD. After the deaths of his father in 1951 and his mother in 1952, David and his sisters resided on a farm near Stockholm, SD with their Swedish immigrant maternal grandparents David and Anna (Engelbretson) Fogelberg, as well as uncles Harold, Henry, and Elmer Fogelberg.

David graduated salutatorian from South Shore High School in 1961. He then attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, and graduated with a BS in Physics in 1965 and subsequently enrolled in graduate school at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. He earned an MS in 1967, and a PhD in 1970 in experimental nuclear physics studying nuclear reactions with ion beams.

On June 11, 1967 he married Norma Hanson, whom he met at SDSU as an undergraduate. They were the parents of four children: David, Daniel, Deborah, and Diana.

Following graduate school, David satisfied his undergraduate Air Force ROTC commitment at the US Weapons Laboratory (now Air Force Research Laboratory) at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM. In 1974 he moved to Washington, DC to work for the US Naval Research Laboratory. At both these research laboratories, he studied x-ray emissions produced by electron beams and plasmas. In 1977 he moved back to Albuquerque to work as a staff scientist for Sandia National Laboratories, working on pulsed power diodes for ion beam fusion. He retired as a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in 2005.

Outside of work David pursued many interests with full vigor. He was an amateur view camera photographer, concentrating mainly on landscapes, which he combined with his love of backpacking in the Rockies. He enjoyed classical music, playing flute in chamber groups, regularly attending concerts, and maintaining a substantial vinyl record collection. He restored and displayed classic cars at auto shows, his efforts devoted predominately to his 1958 and 1965 Fords. He was an avid runner, competing in road and track races throughout his life. After retirement, he devoted his summers to working on his grandparents' farm in South Dakota, baling hay, restoring farm buildings and machinery, and socializing at the local cafe. He also loved to travel, and journeyed around much of the country and world with his wife, siblings, and children. His children and grandchildren share many of his interests.

David is survived by his wife Norma; son David Mark Johnson and children Ingrid and Siri Johnson; son Daniel (Kim) Johnson and children Eliana, Naomi, and Johannes Johnson; daughter Deborah (Shannon) Wamre and children Francine Sipe and Bridgette Wamre; daughter Diana (Bradley) Reents and children Owen and Emilia Reents; and brother-in-law Michael Maps. He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Mary Ann (David) Good and Vivian Maps, and daughter-in-law Sara Sulzbach.

Throughout his life David was intellectually curious, loving to read and study the workings of the world. His worldview was shaped by a loving upbringing on a farm with very limited means and a strong work ethic. He believed in using what you have, fixing it over and over again if needed, and only buying new if there was no one who could fix it – and he could fix almost anything. He was thrifty and handy, with a knack for engineering. He will be greatly missed.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 29,2024 at Faith Lutheran Church, 10,000 Spain NE, Albuquerque, NM. Inurnment will take place in South Dakota at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Grant County Historical Society, P.O. Box 201, Milbank, SD 57252 or an organization of your choice.