Events
Viewing
135 A Street Salt Lake City, UT 84103Ensign Stake Center
Thursday Apr 17, 2025 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Viewing
135 A Street Salt Lake City, UT 84103Ensign Stake Center
Friday Apr 18, 2025 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Burial Committal
200 N St E, Salt Lake City, 84103Salt Lake City Cemetery
Friday Apr 18, 2025 1:15 PM
Listen to Obituary
Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend, Ramon Eskel Johnson, passed away in his home surrounded by his loving family on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Ramon was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 28, 1935 to Eskel Anstrum Johnson and Julia Hendrickson. The third of four children, he was raised on Lowell Avenue, a small street spilling over with friends. He enjoyed sledding, camping with Boy Scouts, and learning to ski in the Deseret News Ski School. He attended Douglas Elementary School and Roosevelt Junior High School where he began an 8-year stint delivering newspapers and won several art competitions.
His characteristic smile and fun-loving nature helped him develop many life-long friendships at East High. He participated on the wrestling team, with the ski club, and as a cheerleader. When he was a senior, he won the Knudsen Cup for skiing.
At the University of Utah, he created more cherished friendships including his Beta Theta Pi fraternity brothers. As a versatile member of the ski team, Ramon earned NCAA Championship podium finishes in the ski jumping, downhill, and slalom events in 1957 and 1958. He won the Engen Cup and was named to the All-American Ski Team. His ski career ended abruptly in 1959 when he injured his knee on a training jump at the US Olympic training facility in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Ramon paid his way through college working hard in summer construction, delivering papers, and doing finish painting work. He served in the Air National Guard and graduated from the University of Utah in 1959 with a degree in mechanical engineering, earning Pi Tau Sigma Honor Society in engineering. After working for General Electric in New York, he became interested in business and returned to the University of Utah to complete an MBA in 1962. He subsequently earned a PhD in Finance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1966. During these years, he met a fellow Badger while on a college ski trip to the northern peninsula of Michigan. Patsy Orton captured his heart and the two later wed on June 11, 1966, a marriage they later solemnized in the London Temple in July of 1969.
Dr. Johnson joined the faculty at the University of Utah, initially serving as director of the European MBA Program, and as a member of the Scholastic Standards and Academic Policy Committees, among others. He became Chair of the Finance Department in 1972, and in 1978 was appointed Associate Dean of the College of Business. He loved teaching and prioritized his relationship with his students for which Dr. Johnson received many Outstanding Teaching Awards in both the undergraduate and MBA programs. He served two terms on the Federal Reserve Board and enjoyed the regular travel to our Nation’s beautiful capital.
Ramon and Patsy raised their family in the Avenues of Salt Lake City. He cherished each of their children: Margit, Erik, Julia, Camille, and Lars. He somehow found the time to support them in their countless endeavors — school, church, sports, and social — making each one feel loved and seen. He taught them to do the things he loved: skiing, dirt biking, gardening, hiking, backpacking, camping, boating, waterskiing, and white-water rafting. Those were happy, adventurous years!
Ramon was generous with his time, serving on The Greater Avenues Community Council and in many church callings over the years. He especially loved the time he spent serving in various bishoprics. In caring for local church buildings, he shoveled enough snow to cover all of Utah’s mountains twice over. He and Patsy extensively researched their genealogy lines, knew their family history, and frequently served in the temple. Ramon respected his pioneer heritage and actively participated in The National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers for many decades, serving in various leadership roles. He volunteered for the Park City Ski Team during his many years as a racing parent. Ramon served on various community and banking boards. Through it all, Ramon was a true disciple of Jesus Christ, greeting friends, associates, and strangers alike with joy and warmth.
A goal-oriented list maker, Ramon’s steno pads could be found around the house listing to-do items. With his curious mind and engineering background, he wasted no time in accomplishing those varied tasks. His carpentry skills were excellent, and he improved their Avenues home many times over the years. Ramon knew the name of every flower a hiker in the Wasatch would encounter. He traveled extensively and enjoyed symphonies and operas all over the world but was happy at home repairing his sprinklers or improving the homes and gardens of his children. He shared his love of nature with his grandchildren, spending time with them at Bear Lake and his ancestral farmhouse in Glenwood, relishing Utah’s ski resorts and extraordinary National Parks. He was thrilled to hear of their exploits on the slopes and trails. Oh, how we will miss his boyish smile and eyes that sparkled with love!
Ramon is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Patsy Orton Johnson, their children Margit (Bill) Caine, Erik (Rebecca) Johnson, Julia (Aaron) Whitehead, Camille (David) Larsen, and Lars (Dyan) Johnson, and 19 precious grandchildren whom he dearly loved. He is also survived by his sister, Marva Johnson Coombs. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister Janet Birkinshaw and brother DeLamar Johnson.
The family wishes to thank Fernando Enriquez Avila and Kristi and William with Aspire Home Health and Hospice for their loving assistance with Ramon’s care.
Funeral services will be held Friday April 18 at 11:00 am in the Ensign Stake Center, 135 A Street in Salt Lake City, Utah with a viewing at 9:30-10:30 that morning. Friends may call the evening prior, Thursday, April 17 from 6 – 8:00 pm at the Stake Center. Internment will be at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Utah Symphony/Opera.
Guestbook/Condolences
Ramon is such an amazing man and a great friend. He was one of the first people to welcome me when I joined the Salt Lake Pioneer Chapter of the Sons of Utah Pioneers. He was also one of the first chapter presidents after I joined. I served on the chapter board with him for many years and he was an amazing support to me when I served as the president of the chapter. I loved to see him at our luncheon meetings and he alway gave me a warm greeting, which included a big hug. I admire his gentleness, kindness and totally optimistic attitude. I always enjoyed the times when Patsy attending luncheons with Ramon. What a great couple! I will miss Ramon and look forward to reuniting with him someday. On behalf of the Sons of Utah Pioneers, I just want to say "we love you Ramon."
Val Parrish
National President
National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers
My Johnson Family,
I am heartbroken to hear of Ramon’s passing. Words cannot express the depth of my gratitude for the love and warmth your family showed me after I lost my dad at a young age. Ramon, you, and the entire Johnson family welcomed me into your home with open arms, treating me not just as Lars’ best friend, but as another son. That unconditional acceptance shaped me in ways I can never fully repay.
Ramon was a guiding light. He patiently taught me how to ride dirt bikes, cheering me on through every wobble and fall until I found my balance. Beyond that, he showed me how to think critically and solve problems, whether he was fixing a leaky faucet or tinkering in the garage. Those moments, watching him work with steady hands and a clear mind, taught me resilience and resourcefulness—lessons I carry with me every day.
Your family’s inclusion went far beyond sharing meals or a roof. You invited me into your traditions, your laughter, your everyday moments. Whether it was piling into the car for a weekend adventure or sitting around the dinner table debating life’s big questions, you made me feel like I belonged. That sense of family, of being seen and valued, gave me the strength to navigate my grief and grow into the person I am today.
Ramon’s wisdom, generosity, and quiet strength touched every part of my life. He didn’t just fill a void; he built a foundation. The Johnson family’s love and support gave me a home when I needed it most, and for that, I will always be grateful.
With all my love and deepest sympathies
James
I am so sorry. I remember him well supporting Erik with the Park City Ski Team. He was such a kind and supporting person.
Mom and I are sending all our love and heartfelt prayers to you and the family. With Dad’s passing just two months ago, we truly understand the mix of sadness and peace that can come with losing someone you love. We're holding you close in our thoughts.
What an amazing person! I got to know Ramon as a friend of Erik's beginning in 1977. It was fun to read about Ramon's outdoor spirit in the obituary and realize how much that came thru to my own life. So many of my outdoor adventure memories and skills came from Ramon or by extension thru Erik. Glissading on summer snow pack, fly fishing in the Uintahs, dirt bike riding at Glenwood, backpacking and managing outdoor gear, windsurfing, slalom skiing at Strawberry or Bear Lake. Yodeling and buck snorts. Always chill and approachable, with a wry sense of humor and an easy laugh. Ramon was the first adult in my life who invited me to call him by his first name. He visited me on my mission when his duties brought him to town. When I picture Ramon its with a smile. I could hear him in the words of each of his five amazing children at the service. He lives on.
Ramon Johnson, a man for all seasons. I never had a better friend or met a better man than Ramon. My first recollection of Ramon was when we both attended Roosevelt junior high school. Ramon was popular and a student officer and I coveted his popularity and status.
Ramon was my boss at the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. I was a finance professor, and he was chairman of the department. We became close friends frequently sharing lunch at the panorama room at the union building. I remember the day he and I rappelled off the College of business building.
One day we hiked Mount Olympus, I was accompanied by Rick, my young son, who was approximately six or seven years old. As we descended Mount Olympus into Neff’s Canyon, I would drop my son into a snow field and Ramon would catch him one hundred feet below.
Ramon and I shared a love of dirt biking. I remember the day he purchased a new Yamaha 250, while I was riding a Kawasaki 350 Big Horn. Our first big ride together was from the Cal Black airport, at halls crossing, down to register rock on the Colorado River. Over the next 15 years we made this an annual occasion with my adding my son and Ramon adding his sons Eric and Lars to the trip. This trip became an annual event for many of our friends nationwide with the highlights being the big ride and the nightly campfires.
For several years Ramon and I led a David Eccles School of Business faculty trip to Lake Powell. I remember Ramon leading us up to stand atop Rainbow Bridge while one of our colleagues expressed his pleasure by mooning the crowds below. An interesting but not necessarily aesthetically pleasing activity was the skinny dipping of the business faculty.
I loved Ramon for over 5 decades and his passing is a massive loss to his family and friends. Hail and farewell my dear friend.
Dick Pratt
Mom and I are sending all our love and heartfelt prayers to you and the family. With Dad’s passing just two months ago, we truly understand the mix of sadness and peace that can come with losing someone you love. We're holding you close in our thoughts.
I was deeply saddened to hear of Dr. Johnson’s passing. As his Research and Teaching Assistant during my MSc program until 2001, I had the privilege of working closely with him and seeing firsthand the dedication he brought to his work. Ramon was an incredible mentor who helped me navigate my academic journey with patience and wisdom, but more importantly, he was an even better person. I will always be grateful for the kindness he showed me. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.