Obituary

Wayne Carl Johnson was born on October 13, 1942 in Long Beach, CA, to Cynthia LaVerne and Laurence Carl Johnson.  He graduated from Long Beach Poly High School in 1960.  Wayne then entered the Air Force where he served his country honorably from 1960-1964, as part of Strategic Air Command.

Wayne was married from 1967-1979 to Virginia (Ginny) Morse, and adopted her beautiful three-year old daughter, Cindy.  During this time he was a cab driver, and he enjoyed talking about the eccentric characters that he would meet in his cab and worked with.  In 1976 Ginny and Wayne welcomed their son, Bryan, into the world. Wayne was a devoted and loving father to Cindy and Bryan, in whom he took great pride and joy.

In the early 1980s Wayne began working for another car company, Medicar, where he would transport people suffering with various sicknesses and disabilities.  It was during this time with Medicar, in 1983, that he would transport a severely disabled young woman, Marjorie Steinhoff and, in daily dropping her off at her home, became friends with her mother, Laura Steinhoff.  Their friendship blossomed into love, and they were a couple for over 30 years, marrying in 1988.  Marjorie became the apple of Wayne’s eye and he was a devoted and loving step-father to her, until Marjorie’s passing in 2007.

It was Wayne’s love for Marjorie that developed in him a passion to care for the disabled.  In the early 1990s he became a teacher’s assistant in the Los Angeles Unified School District, admirably caring for severely disabled children.  In 2005 he retired from LAUSD.  Wayne and Laura then moved from their home in Redondo Beach to the retirement community of Laguna Woods, where they enjoyed the quiet life of retirement together.  In 2010 Laura began developing Dementia and Wayne faithfully cared for her until her passing in 2014.

Anyone who knew Wayne knows that he loved to golf.  Golf was his life-long passion since he first picked up a club at age 13.  He was two time club champion at Anaheim Hills Golf Course, something he was very proud of.  Wayne was a very good athlete and avid sports fan, who very much enjoyed competition and a good competitive challenge.

Wayne also very much enjoyed traveling.  He and Laura traveled to many places in various parts of the world, often going to places where Wayne wanted to play a famous golf course, with Laura riding along in the golf cart with him.  It brought him great joy that he was able to travel to various places of the world with Laura and play many of the world’s great golf courses.

In his early 60s Wayne gave his life to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and was baptized.  His many years of investigating the truth of Christianity led him to give his heart to Jesus.  He developed a strong faith in Christ and loved to share his faith with others.

In 2014 Wayne joined Grace Hills Church, where he met many new friends and his wife, Michelle Leyva.  Michelle brought new love and joy into Wayne’s life, and they married in 2016. Michelle was a devoted wife who faithfully cared for Wayne throughout his year and a half battle with cancer, until his passing on February 18, 2021.

Wayne is now enjoying his new eternal home with Jesus.  Wayne leaves behind his wife, a son, daughter, step-son, four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and a sister.  He leaves a legacy of genuine compassion, generosity, and love.