Glenn Ross Johnson was born on July 31, 1938 to Glenn Henry and Helen Biesinger Johnson in Idaho Falls, Idaho. When he was less than a year old, his family relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah where Ross spent the remainder of his childhood and teenage years.
Ross attended and graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City. He met his sweetheart, Patricia Ford, while attending East High. Ross and Pat were married on June 12, 1958 in the Salt Lake City temple.
Ross joined the Army after high school graduation and served eight years in the Army Reserves. Ross graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Electrical Engineering and later earned his MBA from the University of Southern California.
Ross began his career at Boeing Company in Seattle, Washington. He also worked for General Electric in Santa Maria, California. In 1964, Ross began a 35 year career with TRW working in Aerospace Engineering and Defense. Some of the programs Ross worked on included the first Orbital Geographical Observatory (OGO), multiple rocket launch programs at Cape Canaveral, Florida, managing construction of the largest satellite dish facility at the time in White Sands, New Mexico, avionics system management for the F-22 Raptor fighter jet, and flight training and testing of preliminary unmanned air vehicles. After his official retirement in 1999, Ross continued to consult on several key defense projects for an additional 5 years.
Ross' work took him to many countries including England, France, Switzerland, and Israel where he spent extensive time working with the Israeli government. During this time Ross learned to speak Hebrew and learned much about the Israeli history, culture, and traditions.
Ross was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in many leadership positions within the church including bishop, bishopric member, high council member, executive secretary to the Regional Representative, and full time missionary and instructor at the Yale Institute of Religion. Ross particularly loved the time he served with his wife as temple workers at the San Diego temple for over 10 years.
Ross passed peacefully in his home surrounded by family on March 24, 2021. He is survived by his devoted wife of 63 years, Pat, and their four daughters Chris Wick (Bill), Julia Godfrey (David), Stephanie Carson (Russell) and Laura Mendenhall (Mark), 12 grandchildren and 5 greatgrandchildren. He is also survived by his 5 siblings, Jeannette, Paul, Phillip, Linda and Shirley.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 11 am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 15750 Bernardo Heights Parkway in San Diego, California
Ross' final resting place will be in Midway, Utah.