Patrick Knud Johnson

Patrick Knud Johnson was born into this world on July 31, 1984. He lived to be 39 years old and then God lifted Patrick from the earth on September 8th, 2023, in an unexpected motorcycle accident, on a rainy night, on a Dallas freeway overpass.

Patrick had a big heart. He loved everyone in his family and is survived by his father Carl Knud Johnson, mother Kathryn A. Johnson, brother Ben (and Hilary) Johnson, and sister Kelley (and Brian) Christian. He also loved his Johnson cousins who he enjoyed every holiday; his Uncle Chris who he sometimes consulted for advice; his Aunt Nancy who drove with Kathy in a Penske truck with all his belongings when he moved from Arizona to Dallas; and his nieces (Elliot, Harper, Claire, and Reilly) and nephews (Tyler and Lee Allen), some of whom he never had the chance to meet. He also loved and adored his grandparents; especially Grandma and Grandpa Johnson and the good times they shared in Arizona.

Patrick was spunky, creative, fun-loving, and always enjoyed a good party. And he did everything in a big way; everything. Patrick grew up in Tempe Arizona, and Mary was his best friend during his grade school years. At Christmas time, Patrick and Mary always built a massive light display, the pride of Circle G where he lived. In a 2003 college essay, he wrote, “Then there was the family straight across the street, this house has held some of my greatest memories . . . and all Mary and I ever did was have an amazingly fun time filled with trips to the moon and amazing displays of heroic activity like fighting off the bad guys, building forts, and making cheesy music videos.”

During his grade school years, he played all kinds of sports including t-ball, baseball, wrestling, basketball, even ice hockey(!); and an all-time favorite was the golf lessons and free hot dogs at Shalimar Golf Course. In high school, he took up football and did well enough to earn a walk-on opportunity at the University of Nebraska. That was a disappointing year with a coaching change. But he rebounded and several years later was proud to have finished a triathlon—not easy for a big guy like Pat.

Patrick loved gardening, whiskey, setting off fireworks, loudly laughing, fishing, and hunting. He also loved cars and trucks. His first car was purchased at the age of 15 with his friend Deron for $25. It was a piece of junk the boys brought home somehow, and they were promptly told to get rid of it. When he finally had a driver’s license, Pat drove his brother and sister’s Nissan Altima—which he then totaled. His next vehicle was a Toyota truck that he converted for off-roading and nick-named “Roll Bars.” He cracked the truck frame jumping over ditches. There was Maximus the black Jeep that was rusted out. I think you get the picture. Pat went on to have at least 3 more vehicles by the time he was 25.

Pat also loved food and cooking. He wanted to open a restaurant named PJ’s and Eggs, but never got around to doing that. However, his first real job was as a waiter at Macaroni Grill in Arizona. When he moved to Dallas, he waited tables at a popular restaurant. The owner used to come in and eat a certain meal at a certain table and Patrick noticed this. So, Patrick started setting up the table every day at noon just like the owner usually ordered. Well, the owner took a liking to him for that and chose him as assistant general manager when he opened a new steakhouse. He put Patrick in charge of the wines. This was a really proud time for Patrick. During his tenure there, he took his parents to Napa to sample wines, and this is one of their favorite memories of good times with Pat. Another important and very proud moment was when Pat graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in English.

Patrick was also a very romantic guy. He always wanted to be married, and he had several special girlfriends in high school, college, and young adulthood. But he fell in love with a girl named Taylor while living in Dallas, and they were married in a beautiful wedding in 2011. Those were really happy days for both of them and Patrick is survived by his wife and their two sons, Charles Knud and Christopher Keith. As you can imagine, Patrick loved his sons immensely; he was a wonderful dad. He will be greatly missed in so many ways.

After graduating and leaving the restaurant business, Patrick began working in commercial real estate where he was extremely successful in the Dallas market. He and Taylor took his small fortune and began investing in residential real estate until they had a pretty good size portfolio of rental properties. This was another proud accomplishment and a statement about his work ethic, because Pat always purchased fixer-uppers and then, single-handedly, turned them into very nice rental properties. He was very good with anything that required building. (He was in the process of building a speedboat!)

In addition to the times, he spent in Arizona and then Texas, Patrick had traveled to several other states and countries. He enjoyed three cross-country Amtrak train trips with his family and later traveled with them to Paris, France to visit his sister who was studying abroad. Patrick also went on two month-long Christian mission trips—to Panama and Australia. On both trips, he was very touched and grew close to the Lord. That’s not to say that Pat was a choir boy. No. He often walked in “the grey area.”

Like every one of us, Patrick made mistakes. He had his struggles, his dark spots, and inner challenges. He was far from perfect. But like all of us, he was saved entirely by grace. We need to remember that we all fall short, every one of us, . . . and Thank God, God’s grace never ends. We honor Patrick as the kind and caring Christian soul that he was.

In a private church ceremony followed by a remembrance dinner held on September 23, 2023, his family and closest friends gathered to remember all the many special times and great memories each one had with the fun-loving, bigger-than-life character that was Patrick Knud Johnson.