Lawrence Orville Johnson, age 81, of Hammond, Wisconsin, passed away on August 25, 2023, at his home in Hammond, Wisconsin.

Lawrence was born on September 17, 1941, to Abner and Charlotte (Johnson) Johnson in Hammond, Wisconsin.

After high school, he served in the National Guard and was deployed during the Berlin Crisis at Fort Lewis, Washington.

Lawrence was united in marriage with the love of his life, Cindy (Pratt) on October 7, 1967, at Peace Lutheran Church at Woodside in Baldwin, Wisconsin. Together they raised four children. Lawrence was a self-employed dairy family farmer for most of his life, which involved keeping his family members busy with chores and field work. He insisted on always having a few Milking Shorthorns in his herd. Lawrence was able to retire in 1997, which gave him the opportunity to enjoy the best part of life, his family.

Lawrence’s great passion was music. He could often be found playing his concertina or his piano or singing. In Lawrence and Cindy’s years raising kids, they started their own family sextet that sang for church services, with four of them being featured on WCCO’s Good Morning show with the Good Morning song that was re-aired for years. He also was a member of a local men’s barbershop quartet since 1965 and was a long-time member in the church choir. Lawrence loved watching trains; he even wrote and published his own railroad book. He enjoyed studying railroad history along with WWII, Civil War, American and Indian history, local history, and family ancestry. Lawrence watched every episode of The Andy Griffith Show and Hogan’s Heroes, reciting many lines from the shows. He enjoyed riding old bicycles around the neighborhood and in the barn and playing the card game 500. He took part in bowling leagues and loved spending time with his family.

Lawrence is survived by his loving wife Cindy; children Todd (Tara) Johnson, Ellen (Chris) Campion, Peggy (Bill) Harrington, Sonja (Todd) Torkelson; grandchildren Grace and Emma Johnson, Kyle and Kasey Campion, Tyler Harrington, step grandchildren Rachelle (James Kane) Harrington, Alyssa (Matt Lunning) Harrington; step great- grandchildren Jameson, Maverick and Kylie; sister Lois VanSomeren; sister-in-law Betty Johnson; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Abner and Charlotte Johnson, brother Alvin Johnson, and brother-in-law Kenneth VanSomeren.

A Memorial Service for Lawrence will be held at Rush River Lutheran Church, N8623 County Road Y, River Falls, WI 54002 on Tuesday, August 29th, 2023 at 12:00pm. Visitation will take place two hours prior to the service.

Funeral services entrusted to O’Connell Family Funeral Home of Baldwin.