Lyle O. Johnson, MD
1935 - 2024
Dr. Lyle O. Johnson passed away on September 26, 2024, at the age of 89. He was a POSNA member for 40 years. The following notice, which has been edited, appeared in The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Through his long association with the Twin Cities Shriners Children's Hospital, Dr. Johnson touched the lives of thousands of young people in the Upper Midwest.
He attended medical school at the University of Manitoba. There he met his wife, Nancy Bleeks, with whom he would be married for 65 years. He lived in rural Saskatchewan in the early 1960s as a young MD, sometimes flagging down passing freight trains to reach patients in more distant communities. After showing unusual skill in treating broken bones, Dr. Johnson was encouraged by an orthopaedist to specialize in this area. He took that advice and trained at the Veteran's Administration Medical Center in the Twin Cities.
After a brief return to Canada, the family formally immigrated to Minnesota in 1967 when Dr. Johnson was invited to join Central Orthopedics in St. Paul. He was drafted into the U.S. Army almost immediately to support the war in Vietnam. Following a 3-year stint in Germany, he was honorably discharged with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
The family returned to the Twin Cities in 1971, and Dr. Johnson resumed practicing general orthopaedics. At the forefront of what is now "sports medicine," Dr. Johnson was the lead physician for the Minnesota Fighting Saints hockey team and was part of the medical team for the Minnesota Vikings.
At the same time, Dr. Johnson was volunteering at what was then Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children. There he discovered his true passion: providing free, high-quality care for the children of families who could not afford it. He became Chief Surgeon in 1978. He held this position for 21 years, making countless improvements and overseeing the construction of a new hospital. He was a gifted, albeit sometimes unconventional surgeon who trained dozens of orthopaedic residents, many of whom were inspired to specialize in pediatric orthopaedics. His young patients knew him as "Lyle Lyle Crocodile," and he always wore a smiling crocodile pin on his lab coat.
Dr. Johnson was preceded in death by his sister, Sheila, and wife, Nancy. He is survived by his children: Paul (Tim Carey) and Lisa (Jim Presnail) of the Twin Cities and Scott (Bonnie Purcell Johnson) of Sedona, AZ. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Dr. Johnson’s name to the Twin Cities Unit of Shriners Children's Hospitals (lovetotheRescue.org).
