Dale Robert Johnston, 81, of Westminster, died Sunday, March 6, 2011, at Carroll Lutheran Village Health Care Center. Born Jan. 31, 1930, in Columbus, Ohio, he was the son of the late Dale James Johnston and Gladys Beatrice Vining Johnston. He was the husband of Betty Joan Rowe Johnston, his wife of 58 years.
He served as a radarman petty officer, second class in the Navy onboard the destroyer USS Bristol during the Korean conflict from 1948 to 1952. He also served in the Army Reserves from 1965 to 1990, achieving the rank of chief warrant officer CW4. He had an associate’s degree in engineering from Ohio State University and continued to take college courses throughout his life. He retired from U. S. Civil Service Department of Army Civilian in 1983, serving 23 years. His job took him to several locations including Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Saudi Arabia and Texas, returning to Maryland in 1988 to live near his family.
He enjoyed building and flying radio control airplanes. He competed for more than 35 years and won many trophies and awards. He was a member of the Westminster Aero Modelers Club. He liked restoring old-timey radios and was a member of the Mid-Atlantic Radio Club. He also enjoyed working with wood, making many different toys, mostly for his grandchildren and made other wood items. He was an amateur radio operator with the following call letters: K8ESJ Ohio 1957, W3EKA Maryland 1973, K4HVS Virginia 1977, achieving his Amateur Extra in 1998 W3JQ.
He was a member of the Masonic Temple of Ohio for more than 50 years. Steam engine trains were a thrill for him and he took rides whenever possible. He built an HO scale and Narrow Gauge train layout in the basement of his former home with the help of Dick McEvoy, of Hagerstown. His layout, named “;Pineport And Eagle Creek” was featured in the August 1995 issue of Railroad Model Craftman magazine.He also liked to travel and see different places and countries. He had visited all 50 states, Mexico, many of the European countries and England, and all but two of the Canadian provinces. In the course of his travels he had flown twice around the world. He sometimes traveled with tour groups, but mostly just with his wife. He enjoyed playing any card or board game, including bridge, poker and dominoes.
He was active in aerobics, specifically with the Fit for Life/Abundant Life Group for the past 15 plus years.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, are daughters and son-in-law Marta Lee and Jeffrey A. Barnes, of Sykesville, and Robin Ann Johnston, of Westminster; son and daughter-in-law Mark Lynn Johnston and Jo Ann C. Parker Johnston, of Eldersburg; grandchildren Michael Paul Egolf, of New Windsor, Jarrod Dale “JD” and Ashley Egolf, of Westminster, Juliann Lynn Johnston, of Owings Mills, Jason Carroll Johnston, of Sykesville, and Derek Lee Barnes and Emily Lenore Barnes, both of Sykesville; great-granddaughters Hayley Nicole Campagna, Lillian “Lilly” Dale Harpine and Audrey Michelle Lau, all of Sykesville; a niece, Patti Jo Samo Kniesner, of Bellaire, Ohio; and several cousins in Ohio and Florida.
He was predeceased by a sister, Patricia Mae Johnston Samo. The funeral service will be private.
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He served as a radarman petty officer, second class in the Navy onboard the destroyer USS Bristol during the Korean conflict from 1948 to 1952. He also served in the Army Reserves from 1965 to 1990, achieving the rank of chief warrant officer CW4. He had an associate’s degree in engineering from Ohio State University and continued to take college courses throughout his life. He retired from U. S. Civil Service Department of Army Civilian in 1983, serving 23 years. His job took him to several locations including Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Saudi Arabia and Texas, returning to Maryland in 1988 to live near his family.
He enjoyed building and flying radio control airplanes. He competed for more than 35 years and won many trophies and awards. He was a member of the Westminster Aero Modelers Club. He liked restoring old-timey radios and was a member of the Mid-Atlantic Radio Club. He also enjoyed working with wood, making many different toys, mostly for his grandchildren and made other wood items. He was an amateur radio operator with the following call letters: K8ESJ Ohio 1957, W3EKA Maryland 1973, K4HVS Virginia 1977, achieving his Amateur Extra in 1998 W3JQ.
He was a member of the Masonic Temple of Ohio for more than 50 years. Steam engine trains were a thrill for him and he took rides whenever possible. He built an HO scale and Narrow Gauge train layout in the basement of his former home with the help of Dick McEvoy, of Hagerstown. His layout, named “;Pineport And Eagle Creek” was featured in the August 1995 issue of Railroad Model Craftman magazine.He also liked to travel and see different places and countries. He had visited all 50 states, Mexico, many of the European countries and England, and all but two of the Canadian provinces. In the course of his travels he had flown twice around the world. He sometimes traveled with tour groups, but mostly just with his wife. He enjoyed playing any card or board game, including bridge, poker and dominoes.
He was active in aerobics, specifically with the Fit for Life/Abundant Life Group for the past 15 plus years.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, are daughters and son-in-law Marta Lee and Jeffrey A. Barnes, of Sykesville, and Robin Ann Johnston, of Westminster; son and daughter-in-law Mark Lynn Johnston and Jo Ann C. Parker Johnston, of Eldersburg; grandchildren Michael Paul Egolf, of New Windsor, Jarrod Dale “JD” and Ashley Egolf, of Westminster, Juliann Lynn Johnston, of Owings Mills, Jason Carroll Johnston, of Sykesville, and Derek Lee Barnes and Emily Lenore Barnes, both of Sykesville; great-granddaughters Hayley Nicole Campagna, Lillian “Lilly” Dale Harpine and Audrey Michelle Lau, all of Sykesville; a niece, Patti Jo Samo Kniesner, of Bellaire, Ohio; and several cousins in Ohio and Florida.
He was predeceased by a sister, Patricia Mae Johnston Samo. The funeral service will be private.