Marcellus “Mark” Johnson

Marcellus “Mark” Lee Johnson, age 92, of Edina, passed away peacefully on April 29, 2025 with family at his side.

Mark was born on 9/11/32 in Newman Grove, Nebraska and baptized at Shell Creek Lutheran Church. After graduating high school in 1950, he attended Augsburg College, now called Augsburg University. He served in the Army for two years in El Paso, Texas, then moved back to Minneapolis where he worked in admissions at Augsburg 1958-1972, eventually becoming Director of Admissions. His neighbor suggested he’d make a good realtor. Over Mark’s 28 years in real estate (1972- 2000) he worked for Conrad and Conrad, then Bermel-Smaby and finally Edina Realty, often recognized as one of the top agents. He specialized in listing houses in his South Minneapolis neighborhood and once sold 19 houses in a single month. He was a huge baseball fan. He attended the very first Minnesota Twins home game in the Met Stadium in 1961. He attended over 1650 Twins games, and on 8/22/2000 was chosen one of nine all-time MN Twins fans. One of the most exciting days of his life was 9/13/23, two days after his 91st birthday, when he raised the flag at a Twins game.

Mark met his sweetheart Thelma at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis where they married on 5/24/58. They were together 65 years until she passed away on Mother’s Day in 2023. They lived for 41 years at 5405 10th Avenue, 15 years at 7500 York and finally at Aurora on France. Some of the things they enjoyed were their Lutheran faith, visits to Norway Lake, activities related to Augsburg and Norwegian organizations, 4 trips to Norway, and going out for dinner. Mark’s unwavering faith allowed him to look forward to seeing Thelma and other loved ones again.

Preceded in death by his wife, Thelma Louise (Aasen) Johnson; sister, Gloria Johnson; and parents, Casper and Clara (Simonson) Johnson.
Survived by daughters, Mary (Curtis) Oswskey, Kay Johnson (Joseph Zunt), and Ann (William) Hamann; grandchildren, James (Renee), Peter, Anora, Andrew, Sam, Ian, Jeremiah, and Kris.