Manford E. 'Buzz' Johnson, 87

Buzz Johnson died on Aug. 17, 2011, in Beaverton, Ore., from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

He was born in Asotin, Wash., on June 25, 1924, and grew up on the family ranch on the Snake River in Oregon. He attended grade school in Imnaha, Ore., and high school in Asotin. After graduating in 1942, he began college at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.

His education was interrupted during his freshman year by World War II. He served in the U.S. Army’s 100th Infantry Division in Europe, receiving the Bronze Star. Along with many of his generation, World War II was a defining experience that influenced him throughout his life.

After the war, he returned to WSU where he met his future wife, Maxine Champagne. They were married in 1947 and moved to Missoula in 1949.

During the 1950s, Buzz worked for various firms involved in agricultural equipment and supplies. In 1960, he founded the Mountain Supply Company in Missoula, which provided plumbing and heating supplies, as well as irrigation design and installation services. The company eventually expanded to locations in Bozeman and Billings. In the early 1970s, he separated the irrigation operations of Mountain Supply into a new company, Ag Sales. Both firms still exist today under new ownership.

Buzz and Maxine retired to Bigfork in 1988, and, beginning in 2002, divided their time between there and Lake Oswego, Ore. During retirement, they traveled extensively in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, but Buzz still preferred his summer pack trips with friends into the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Maxine died in 2007.

Buzz is survived by his son, Kurt; daughter-in-law, Julie; and granddaughter, Cory.

Both Buzz and Maxine received scholarships while students, which led them to establish a scholarship in their name at Washington State University.  Memorials can be sent to: The M.E. and Maxine Johnson Honors Scholarship, WSU Foundation, P.O. Box 644532, Pullman, WA 99164-4532.