Steven Leslie Johnson, age 70, departed this life, peacefully in his sleep, on March 15th, 2022.  In November he was diagnosed with cancer.

Steve was born in Des Moines, Iowa to Richard Leslie and Marianna Theresa (nee Mauro) Johnson. He attended Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas then Texas Tech University in Lubbock prior to enlisting in the United States Air Force as a sergeant.  He served as an inflight refueling (boom) operator from June 1971 until June 1975 and was honorably discharged.  He was based at the SAC AFB in Grand Forks, North Dakota and served two tours in Viet Nam.

He is survived by his wife Laura (nee Smythe) Johnson; sister Sandy May of Crossroads, Texas; sister Joanne Burnett of Caldwell, Texas; and identical twin brother Michael Johnson of Richardson, Texas; and 8 nieces and nephews.

Steve had an infectious smile, an affable demeaner and was quick to laugh.  Steve was respected and admired by his friends and colleagues.  He was a generous man.  Without being asked, he paid for the college tuition of his goddaughter Leslie.  He mentored many people in the software industry and police work.

Steve had a successful and distinguished career in enterprise software sales.  His customers were many Fortune 500 companies.  His success in regularly making or exceeding quota was due to being honest, straightforward and candid, then always doing what he said he would do.  His co-workers lovingly called him The Sherriff.

For 25 years, Steve was a volunteer reservist deputy-sheriff in Dallas County and then an officer for the McKinney, Texas Police Department.  He loved serving warrants and riding patrol.  He was proud to have headed-up the sex offender compliance unit in McKinney.  Steve also competitively shot firearms.

Steve put nearly 75,000 miles on his BMW 1150 GS motorcycle.  He rode it as far away as Alaska and Nova Scotia and to every state but Florida.  Steve was a fantastic chef, and his secret was using simple ingredients and love.  After retirement, he enjoyed grilling on his patio while drinking XX beer and smoking a cigar with his wife and dogs.

Steve's motto in life was "Every day is a holiday, and every meal is a feast!"  Steve is well known for his "Johnson-isms," zingy, succinct one-liners.  One of his most repeated Johnson-isms was that "No one gets out alive."

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating blood in his honor.

Steve will be laid to rest in St. Louis, Missouri at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, 2900 Sheridan Road, St. Louis, MO 63125, on Monday, March 21st at 1:30.  Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the service. Funeral procession will meet in the UPPER parking lot of Sylvan Spring Park at the corner of Sheridan Rd. and Boundary Rd. (see map below).

There will be a Celebration of Life at his home immediately following the funeral.  If you won't be able to attend Steve's funeral, please stop by after 2:45 for the open house.  All who knew Steve are welcome to attend.

There will also be a Celebration of Life open house in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, March 26th from 2-5 p.m.  Steve will be eulogized by his friends around 3 p.m.  Thank you to Amy and Bruce Rannells for hosting.  Their address is 1304 Stapleton Lane, Flower Mound, Texas 75028.  All who knew Steve are welcome to attend.

Ortmann Stipanovich Funeral Home      www.osfuneralhomes.com