Obituary: Jon J. Johnson loved adventure and grandkids

Anyone seeking insight into the gregarious personality of Jon J. Johnson would do well to gaze at three photographs.

In one, the longtime Twin Cities attorney who loved to tell jokes has a snake around his neck. In another, the adventure lover is decked in full hiking gear at a gorgeous painted canyon.

But the third photo may give the truest view. In it, a beaming Johnson lies in the snow with four young grandchildren plopped upon his back.

"He loved chasing them, letting them ride on his back," Cary Johnson said of his father and those kids. "He had a spirit of adventure and went on trips around the world. But he would trade all of those things for a week telling stories and giving rides to his grandkids."

Johnson, 70, who helped build Bloomington's Johnson & Condon law firm during a 40-year career, died Feb. 16 at the N.C. Little Hospice in Edina after a brief battle with cancer.

"He had an intense, uncommon devotion to his family and his grandchildren," Cary Johnson said. "As far as I can tell, it was a No Rules Zone when we dropped the kids off. The requests we made seemed to be advisory and not binding to my dad."

Fun and adventure -- and a little danger -- permeated Johnson's life. He'd climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and hiked forest trails. For his 70th birthday, he jumped out of an airplane.

"He sort of raised us to be the same way," his son said.

Good humor also infected his professional relationships, said Mary Kohl, a managing partner at Johnson & Condon.

"He always had a great story and a great way of lightening what might otherwise be a tense situation," she said. "He had a great way of bringing people together and building consensus and leaving everybody feeling like it was a great experience."

Mark Condon, Johnson's law partner, said his humor and integrity made the firm a great place to work. They met 37 years ago, Condon said, "and he's been my friend all of that time. I am a lucky guy."

Johnson was preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Janice, who died in 2010. He is survived by his sons, Cary, of Bloomington, and Bradley of Lincoln, Neb.; his brother Keith of Palm Desert, Calif., and his four grandchildren.