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Allan "Big Al" Otto Johnson, father, brother, friend, teacher, coach, grandfather, lover of nature and his yellow labs, left us physically and peacefully on Friday, June 24, 2022. His presence will continue to be felt by all those he touched in his nearly 80 years of life.
Born on Sept. 28, 1942, in Phoenix, Ill., he grew up exploring his neighborhood along the railroad tracks and grain silos with friends and spending as much time as possible at the families cottage on the Kankakee River.
Allan attended Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Ill., and was a member of the Class of 1960. It's during his years there that he made friends who would last through time and beyond distanced. Known as "Moose," he was a member of the football team and was named Illinois All-State tackle in 1959, while achieving the most tackles of any player in the Chicago area. He also took fourth place on the state wresting team. He believed he owed his accomplishments to the guidance and encouragement of his coaches.
After high school, he was recruited to the University of Illinois, where he played for the Fighting Illini for a season until an injury ended his football career. He finished his college career at Western Michigan University, and earned a degree in biology and a teaching certificate.
He began teaching and coaching in Coloma shortly after graduating. It's here where he would share his knowledge, skills and advice with students for more than 40 years.
From 1965 on, he wore many hats in the community of Coloma. Over the years, he taught horticulture, life science, physical education, even penmanship (which if you've seen his, is pretty ironic).
He married Sandra Lange, a fellow teacher, started a family, and coached football and wrestling at every level. Perhaps because his own experience with athletics had such a profound effect on his life, he approached coaching and teaching with a tremendous amount of heart. Taking care to coach with humanity and caring for the person each player was to become, he didn't prioritize winning as much as hard work, commitment and integrity.
As a teacher, Big Al's door was always open for students seeking help or advice. Throughout their lives, Al's children would meet people who would share stories of how he helped them find the right path in life, avoided making bad choices, or was a positive influence when they were struggling to find one.
The latter part of his teaching career, he also began teaching adult education classes in the evening. He deeply enjoyed this as many of his students were coming back to school with renewed motivation and eager to succeed. He loved assisting and encouraging them.
In retirement, always with a yellow lab as his companion, Al devoted more time to woodworking, improved his property, organized family reunions and hosted casual reunions with his lifelong Thornton High School family.
Carrying on with Allan's blessings are his sister, Betty (Mike) Radice of Missouri; his children, Jeff Harrison of Maryland, York (Tracy) Johnson of Oregon and Allandra (Clint) Emerson of Oregon; his grandchildren, Adrian Harrison, Niall Harrison, Sören Johnson, Arlo Emerson and Maple Emerson.
A memorial gathering will be from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, July 10, at The D.A.N.K., 2651 Pipestone Road, Benton Harbor.
Those wishing to honor Allan additionally can consider spending an extra minute appreciating a sunset, cheering a bit longer and louder for that young athlete doing their best, or, in lieu of flowers, making a donation to The Nature Conservancy.
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