Douglas Grant Johnson

Our husband, father, and grandfather Douglas Grant Johnson passed away at age 92 on July 1st, 2024, from complications due to congestive heart failure and age. He died peacefully with his family members around him.

He was born on May 6th, 1932, to Grant Alfred Lee Johnson and Lavern Heelis Johnson in Santaquin, Utah, and had one sister, Barbara, and much extended family in the area.

He graduated from Payson High School then Brigham Young University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts, specializing in arts and illustration. He discovered comic strips in elementary school and decided that’s what he wanted to do in life. Growing up in the small town of Santaquin, Utah, he began writing and drawing comic strips of his own, and during his high school and early college years, he illustrated stories in comic-strip style for the LDS Church’s children's magazine.

He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from April 1954 to December 1956 (2 ½ years). He was called to the Brazil South America Mission (the only mission there at the time) and traveled over two weeks to get there by boat from New York.

He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force in November 1957.

Following that, he worked for a couple of years as an illustrator at Brigham Young University before moving into the movie business as an Art Director at BYU Motion Picture Studios. He was one of the original employees of the studio. An early motion picture he worked on was Johnny Lingo, a short film which has since become a classic. Later, he began producing, directing, and often writing many short films that together collected more than a wall-full of film festival awards and other honors. Among them are the short films John Baker’s Last Race, The Phone Call, The Emmett Smith Story, and The Gift, which was his personal favorite.

He spent most of the latter part of his career as a producer and director and production designer for motion pictures and television. He later ran a small graphic design and printing business out of his house. During his retirement, he mainly worked as an author. He wrote many short stories for the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, including a last submission just 6 months before he passed away. He also self-published quite a few mystery novels.

It was while working in the BYU Audio Visual Department that he met his future wife, Clare Schroeter. They were married in the Manti Utah Temple in 1960 and settled in Utah County. Together they raised four children: Natalie, Bruce, Jen, and Chris. Doug was always busy with work or some project. He provided materials and tools for his children to experiment, hone skills, and even learn professions. His artistic influence in the home left many paintings on the walls of scenic places he’d visited or imagined, and his love of reading left many books for his children to dive into. Another of his favorite hobbies was gluing and building model cars and train sets to perfection.

He knew no bounds and was always a student of one thing or another. He studied and read up on many subjects and had a very large library of a few thousand books. He lived by his own axiom, “Just because someone says something can’t be done, doesn’t mean that it can’t be done.” He embodied the true definition of the Renaissance Man and always enjoyed whatever it was he was doing next. His personal, family and professional legacy will endure.

He is survived by his wife Clare, their three younger children and their spouses, 14 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by his parents, sister Barbara, and daughter Natalie.

We wish to give a special thank you to the members of his Harmony Home Health & Hospice team who supported all of us so well during his last months home with family, as well as to his friends in the neighborhood who were always willing to extend love and a helping hand to both of our parents. We love and miss you, Dad!

On Monday, July 22, 2024, a funeral service honoring Doug will be held at the chapel located at 135 East 2000 South, Orem, Utah 84058. The visitation will be from 10:00-10:45 am and the funeral from 11:00-noon. Following the service, Doug will be laid to rest in the Santaquin City Cemetery.