Charles "Chuck" Johnson

Fight on you Knights and go onward to victory." Charles "Chuck" Johnson, the composer of Hellgate High School's school songs and a 40-year music educator in Montana and Washington, died Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, at the age of 85. He died in hospice care, surrounded by his family who filled his last minutes with music at his bedside.

Chuck was born June 2, 1929, at the home of his parents Elmer and Tressa Johnson, in Opheim, Montana, the first born of four children. His parents met at barn dances in Montana, where both were musicians. They encouraged Chuck's early penchant for music. When he graduated from Opheim High School in 1947 he enlisted in the Navy as a musician. After completing the Navy's music school in Washington, D.C., he was stationed in Washington and at Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois.

While at Great Lakes he met a local girl, Lucille "Lucy" Graham in nearby Waukegan. They were married Aug. 6, 1949. After discharge from the Navy he worked in a lithography shop. On Aug. 25, 1950, they had their first child, Alan. Chuck moved his young family to Harlem, Montana, in 1951. The family grew there with Terry born Nov. 7, 1951, and Ann born May 5, 1953.

Chuck worked in the Harlem Chevrolet dealership as a mechanic until enrolling at the University of Montana (then called Montana State University) in 1953. He moved his family to Missoula where a fourth child, Bob was born on Aug. 24, 1955. In 1956, he graduated cum laude from MSU with a degree in music education.

He was excited to accept his first teaching contract at White Sulphur Springs, which came complete with a new high school building with a well-appointed music classroom. His youngest child, Jo, was born June 25, 1957.

After four years at White Sulphur, Chuck took the family back to Missoula in 1960, where he served as teaching assistant and assistant band director at MSU which getting his master's in music education. In 1961, he went to work for the Missoula Grade School District as assistant band director. He was hired as grade school orchestra director in 1963.

In 1964, when Missoula County High School split into three separate units, Hellgate, Sentinel and Seeley-Swan, he was hired as Hellgate High School's first band director. The traditions of the county high school went with Sentinel and Hellgate was charged with creating its own traditions.

Thus, as Hellgate's first band director, he was asked if he might find some appropriate college song to install as Hellgate's school song. He decided he would do better than that and composed the tunes himself, including the fight song "Fight on You Knights," and the alma mater song, "We are the Knights of Hellgate High." Hellgate remains one of very few high schools in the nation with a school song set to an original melody. Under his leadership, the Hellgate Band performed challenging, cutting-edge symphony music of the day. Some of his students went on to professional music careers.

He left teaching at Hellgate and moved to the Seattle area where he eventually became an instrumental music instructor in Renton, Washington. He retired in 1998. All during his career he brought a little extra income into his growing family by teaching private lessons and playing in various local jazz combos at night clubs and supper clubs in Missoula, often playing alongside his music teaching colleagues.

He was a former president of the Montana Bandmasters Association. He was honored Aug. 13 of this year by Gary Gillette and the Missoula City Band and retired Hellgate choral director, Dean Petersen, who performed and sang the Hellgate songs while he sat in the front row at his last public outing, fittingly at the Missoula City Band Concert in which he played many summers.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Lucy; son Bob; grandsons Sean Johnson and Gregory Johnson; great-granddaughter Ila Johnson; sister Florine Tietz and his parents Elmer and Tressa Johnson.

He is survived by his son Alan Johnson (Carol Gordon) and grandchildren Mandy Johnson, Jeff Johnson (with great-grandchild Jordan), Bethany (Will) Allen, and Erin Johnson (with great- grandson Keenan).

Daughter Terry DeGroot, with grandchildren Kevin Jenkins (Georgi) (with grandsons Dexter and August), Suzanne (Eric) Kiflawi, and Colin Jenkins.

Daughter Ann (Den) Corrin with grandchildren Anne Franck (Joe) (with great-grandchildren Elizabeth and Charlie), Michael Bigley (Becky Campbell) (with great-grandchildren Jerimiah and Lucy) and Kina Muir (Matt Franzen) (and great-grandson Ian).

Son Bob's widow Mary, and grandchildren, Drew (with great-grandchildren Freya, Ayden and Mary) and Heather; daughter Jo (Joe) Solomon and grandchildren Jocelyn Hobart, Eric Palmer and Owen Palmer; his sisters, Audrey (Tom) Parnell and Shirley (Allan) Pearson and scores of nephews and nieces down four generations.

A public memorial service for friends, students, colleagues and family will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, at University Congregational Church, with plenty of good music and a reception to follow at the church. A smaller memorial service will be at Missoula Manor at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, in the recreation room for his Missoula Manor friends. Cremation has taken place and the family will hold a private internment service Friday at Sunset Memorial Garden at the family plot.

Memorials go to the Chuck Johnson Memorial Fund at First Interstate Bank, with the proceeds to go to a new piano for the Missoula Manor recreation room and remaining proceeds to benefit music students at Hellgate High School.

The family's heartfelt thanks go out to Hospice at Partners in Home Care, Hillside Manor, Missoula Manor and all the family, friends, colleagues and students who visited and brought joy to his last weeks of life.
Read Charles Johnson's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.