Mark Johanson
1957 - November 3, 2022

Mark Johanson passed away on Nov. 3rd, 2022 after a valiant battle with Younger-Onset Alzheimer's Disease.  Mark was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to Nanny and Ilo Johanson, both proud Estonian immigrants. As an infant, Mark lived with his parents on the Purdue University campus as his father finished up his Civil Engineering degree. The family then returned to Indy where Mark spent his formative years. Mark was a standout athlete in his youth, gaining recognition with his wrestling, football, and track & field talents. It was eventually his football talents that landed him a full-ride scholarship to Purdue, where he studied Industrial Engineering and spent 4 years as a varsity athlete. He was an incredibly proud member of the famous 1978-1979 Purdue "Junk Defense", which took home victories at both the 1978 Peach Bowl and 1979 Bluebonnet Bowl. Post graduation, he was a diehard Boilermakers fan and continued to cheer on his beloved team whenever they played. Mark met his wife, April, a fellow Purdue Boilermaker at his first job out of college at IBM in San Jose, CA, where April was an intern the summer of 1982. They married in 1985 and moved to Orinda, CA, where they raised their two daughters, Amanda and Alyssa. Mark was a devoted father who never missed any of Amanda's dance recitals or Alyssa's basketball games.  Mark worked various jobs, mostly in the tech and financial industries. He retired in 2016 as a financial advisor for Charles Schwab. For several years, Mark used his knowledge to lead Our Savior's Lutheran Church Foundation in Lafayette, CA to strategically fund non-profits in the East Bay & beyond. Mark loved hiking, camping, skiing, listening to music, and making everyone around him laugh. He was still singing and making funny noises to make his caregivers laugh up until the end of his life.  Mark was very proud of his Estonian heritage and WII refugee parents, and later took his family back to Estonia in 2015 to show his daughters their heritage. After his Alzheimer's diagnosis in early 2019, Mark developed a strong interest in helping to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. He participated in a behavioral trial with the UCSF Memory & Aging Center, and even chose to donate his brain and spinal cord to science after his passing.  Mark is survived by his wife, April, daughters, Alyssa Johanson and Amanda Johanson Gade, and son-in-law Ben Gade. His brother, Erik, sister-in-law, Sarah, and parents, Nanny and Ilo, preceded him in death.  Friends and family are invited to Mark's Celebration of Life on January 15th at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. Please contact the family for further details. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org

Published by East Bay Times on Jan. 8, 2023.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/eastbaytimes/name/mark-johanson-obituary?id=38594182