JOHNSON, Gary Marshall (Arizona)

Arizona Republic (Phoenix AZ) Sunday, September 20, 2015 Gary "Arizona" Johnson passed away September 10, 2015 as he was preparing to perform at the Elks Theater as a featured artist with the Prescott Opry. He was 59 years old. Johnson was well known around Arizona as an entertainer who delighted crowds with his western music and storytelling. His target audience was anyone seeking an authentic Western experience from locals to winter visitors and tourists from around the globe. "One of These Days", his fourth album, was released only three weeks before his passing. He dedicated it to his "bestest friend," Pam, his wife of 31 years, who survived him along with his mother Florence Johnson, and brothers Terry and Scott Johnson and their families. Johnson was also a professional photographer best known for his works published in Arizona Highways Magazine and other notable publications. For several years he was also an adjunct professor at ASU West teaching photography and photojournalism. He loved teaching and his students loved him for his real world knowledge and skills but especially for his warm engaging personality. While teaching there, Johnson remembered a 1997 article for Arizona Highways Magazine he photographed and Peter Aleshire wrote about the early 1900's historic and controversial photography of Brother Simeon Schwemberger in the Four Corners region. Johnson knew the century old glass plate photography, numbering more than 1700, was succumbing to the elements in the basement of the Mission. He then connected the Mission with ASU West's New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Navajo and Hopi tribal leaders and other cultural and preservation experts. After two years of negotiations, the collection was rescued, preserved, and digitized. The collection is now permanently stored at ASU West with partial displays on campus and other traveling exhibitions shown around the world. Johnson was also an avid horseman spending 10 summers with Don and Shelly Donnelly's D-Spur Ranch entertaining guests around the campfire at night and taking photographs by day throughout Monument Valley and northern Arizona. Johnson's passion for southwest history allowed him to lead tours throughout much of Arizona with special emphasis on Hopi country, he was an active member of the Arizona Guide's Association. When Gary and Pam lived in Wickenburg, Gary served as a firearms instructor with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Posse which led to his position as a Nuclear Security Officer at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station pre and post 9-11. As a young man, Gary was an Eagle Scout who taught black powder shooting and Dutch oven cooking at Whiting High Adventure Camp. An event celebrating Gary's life will be held on Saturday September 26, 2015 starting at 10am poolside at the Smoke Tree Resort and Bungalows, 7101 E. Lincoln Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85253. An online condolence book and other information is available at through Johnson's music website at www.cowvboymusic.us In lieu of flowers, please honor Gary buy making a donation to the American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org