Alan Dale Johnson was born on June 28, 1935 in Apple River Township on the family farm. He was the seventh of eight children born to Martin and Emma Johnson. He started working on the family farm at a very young age, where he also attended Apple River Park school. He was needed on the family farm along with his brother Ansel. It was on the family farm that Alan and his brother Ansel survived the Mother’s Day Tornado of 1953 by seeking safety under the team of work horses in the barn. They crawled out amongst littered debris with no barn in sight, blessed to be alive.

Alan met the love of his life, Marlys Plahn, while she was singing at a funeral of a mutual acquaintance in January 1965. They married later that year at Moe Lutheran Church in Clear Lake on October 2, 1965. They made their home on the family farm where they resided until 1996, moving just north of Amery at the corner of 46 and Co. Rd H. Here, they loved watching traffic go by, waving at folks, and welcoming visitors in for a cup of coffee! They celebrated 55 1⁄2 years of marriage before Marlys passed away in 2021.

Alan and Marlys were blessed with the birth of their daughter Lori in 1967, and their son, Dale in 1969. This made their family complete. Alan farmed alongside his brother Ansel, with the help of their wives who love to hay!

Alan was an active member of the Apple River Evangelical Free Church, serving as a Deacon and Trustee numerous times over the years. He was one of the instrumental members who planned the construction of the Apple River Community Church.

Alan made the decision to get out of farming, having an auction in February 1986. Within one month, he started his dream job as a cheesemaker at Wisconsin Dairies in Clayton. He said many times this was one of the best decisions he ever made. He worked at the Dairy for just short of 20 years, retiring to be able to go camping more. It was also during these years, that he was a founding member of the Hardee’s Coffee Club. After the closing of Hardee’s the group made the move to the Amery Community Center, where he continued to attend daily. He was known to be the first one in the parking lot! The coffee was hot, the fellowship flourished, lasting friendships were made, and numerous world problems were solved! He would want this to continue.

Al is best known in the community and to family and friends as the Tractor Man. His love for tractors gave him endless enjoyment during his retirement. He was very proud of his work in restoring the many tractors he did, and still to this day having 17 spotless beauties in storage. The Super Bowl to him was the Fall Festival, and he loved all the upkeep it took to getting ready to show off and share his love of tractors with the community.

Alan was proceeded in death by his wife Marlys; parents Martin and Emma Johnson; siblings Martin Johnson, Eleanor Buhr, Virgil Johnson, Viola Albertson, June Peterson, Ansel Johnson, along with life-long family friend, Boyd Littlefield. Survivors include his daughter Lori (Jeff) Becker and Dale (Donnella) Johnson; grandchildren Erin (Mitchell) Fenske, Devan (Angie) Johnson, Alex (Molly) Becker, Dylan (Madison) Johnson, Austin (Paige) Becker, and Drew (Caleb) Fremling; great-grandchildren Jaxon and Braxton Fenske; sister JoAnn (Larry) Johnson, as well as many other nieces, nephews, neighbors that were all dear to his heart.

A visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at the Williamson-White Funeral Home in Amery, WI. Funeral Services will take place at 11:00 am on Thursday, July 24, 2025 at Apple River Community Church in Amery, WI with a visitation one hour prior. Burial will take place at the Amery Cemetery.

Last Update: Jul 22, 2025 7:16 am CDT