Philip "Skip" Johnson

Philip (Skip) Johnson passed away on June 27, 2022, at the age of 76. A Celebration of Life will be held at Pleasant Valley Lutheran Church, rural Vermillion on Friday July 1, 2022, at 1:00PM.

Skip was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of Philip and Dona Johnson. They moved back to South Dakota in 1951 and settled on a farm in Pleasant Valley township. He was a member of Pleasant Valley Church in rural Vermillion. Skip attended a country school and then high school in Vermillion SD, graduating in 1963. He played with various bands, and performed with a family band for 14 years playing the drums. Skip was also inducted into the South Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
He started farming right out of high school. Skip married Elaine (Sherman) in 1968 and two children were born from this union, Christine in 1970 and Curtis in 1973. Skip started driving semi-truck all over the country in 1990, he drove for many years and enjoyed seeing different sites and owning his own truck. Skip enjoyed fishing and would take the grandkids when they were younger. He loved to farm and took pride in fixing up the home place that his grandparents lived on. Skip loved his family above all and will be missed deeply.

He is lovingly remembered by his wife Elaine (Sherman) Johnson, Vermillion SD; daughter Christine (Mike) Esping, of Sioux Falls, SD; son Curtis (Sara) Johnson, of Vermillion, SD. Five grandchildren, Samantha (Drew) Trautman, Sioux Falls, SD; Jenna and Luke Girard, Sydney and Trinity Johnson of Vermillion, SD. One sister Paula (Tony) Nelson, and brother Dale (Lisa) Johnson both of Vermillion, SD, Skip is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Skip was preceded in death by his parents Philip and Dona Johnson, and brother Douglas Johnson.