Stanley Eugene Johannes was born on December 19, 1927, in Port Angeles, Washington, and died on April 23, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle with his wife, Bonnie, and sons, Ken and Jim by his side.
Stan came to Hoquiam at 14 months old with his mother following the employment of his father as an electrician at the new Rayonier Pulp Mill in Hoquiam. He remained a resident of Hoquiam for nearly all of his life and was a 1946 graduate of Hoquiam High School. Of the surviving members of his class, he was the only one still residing in Hoquiam.
Stan was predeceased by his parents Eugene H. and Linda M. Johannes and his sisters, Margery (Johannes) Nelson and Carolyn (Johannes) Hanley.
Stan leaves behind his loving, caring wife, Bonnie M. (Albertson) Johannes, beloved sons and daughters-in-law Kenneth Eugene and Rose Johannes, and James Irvin and Melody Johannes, grandsons Erik Stanley Johannes and Micky James Johannes, along with very special nieces and nephews plus many wonderful friends and extended families here and abroad from his long active life.
As a youngster he delivered newspapers for four different editions and admitted that one time he dumped the Seattle Star into the river so he could go fishing! In his teens he was an elevator operator at the Emerson Hotel for a short time, but found that delivering telegrams on his bicycle was more exciting and more lucrative. He always found a way to have money in his pocket that included peeling cascara bark, of course. This ambitious, adventurous, happy kid remained that way throughout his life to never have a dull moment.
In his senior year, Stan enlisted in the Army Air Corps to avoid the draft and soon after graduation he left for boot camp in Texas. San Antonio was hot and then he was sent to Illinois for a year of electronics and radio school which was also hot, so when Stan heard he may be sent to Jamaica, he went to his sergeant and asked to be sent somewhere cooler. They responded by sending him to Greenland for the next twentytwo months! That was the perfect fit for Stan. He was classed as a WWII veteran.
After returning in 1949, he and a Hoquiam friend took up an offer to crew on a sailboat to The Philippines from Seattle which ingloriously ended in California leaving them to hitchhike back to Hoquiam. He then spent some time on the logging operations at Grisdale where he soon found that it was not to his liking.
So, following this, he began an electrical apprenticeship for his father’s business, Star Electric in Hoquiam that was established in 1943. When his father died suddenly in 1957, Stan became the manager of the business until it was sold in 1992. During those early years the Star Electric Co. was located just a half block from Hay’s Dairy on J Street. Hay’s had a Fountain Lunch and eventually Stan became a customer as he had his eye on a hard-working waitress and Grays Harbor College student, Bonnie Albertson. It took over a year before their first date occurred, but the rest is history. They married on October 17, 1959, at the First Presbyterian Church of Hoquiam and their 64½ years of memories began! Both knowing how to polka and schottische was an added magnet.
In 1965, Stan and Bonnie with young sons Ken and Jim moved to their new home on Valley Road at Grays Harbor City and have resided there since. Though Stan was a town kid he was meant to live out of the city and this was an ideal place to raise their sons. They both worked hard to finish and maintain their ranch home and acreage to make it a beautiful, peaceful place.
Until retirement Stan was very involved in the community that includes Past Master of Masonic Lodge #64, Past President of Hoquiam Rotary, District 3 Civil Service Sheriff Commissioner, Fire District Commissioner, Salvation Army Board member, Hoquiam Elks Lifetime Member and member of GHARC. He was a 72 yearlong member of IBEW 76 and also a member of NECA. Following retirement in 1992, he became active with the Sons of Norway Lodge and a member of the GH Genealogical Society. With her research abilities, Bonnie tracked down his grandparents’ homelands and cousins in Iceland and Norway that led them to a memorable trip in 1997. Bonnie’s mother was from a large, Irish family in Liverpool, England and they had four memorable trips there beginning in 1975. On their first trip, with Stan wearing a large shamrock pin with “My name is O’Johannes” was the beginning of them adopting the Viking!
Curious and always cheerful, Stan made friends easily, was a great joke and storyteller, a bit of a prankster and always looking on the positive side. He was an adventurous, sometimes daring guy, hunter, fisherman but mostly enjoyed home life with family, friends, pets and all Nature has to offer.
Please join us to honor and celebrate Stan’s life at the Polson Museum on Saturday, May 18th at 1:00 PM.
