Darrell A. Johnston

Darrell A. Johnston, 61, Bismarck, died March 30, 2016, at his home. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday at 10:00 AM at Eastgate Funeral Services in Bismarck with Chaplain Frank Losos officiating. Burial will be at Glencoe Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday from 5:00 – 8:00 PM at Eastgate Funeral Service and will continue on Tuesday one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. The eagle, soaring high in the sky, doesn’t trouble itself as it crosses the river. Darrell was a special person. He was born in Bismarck on April 11, 1954, to Ken and Irene Johnston. Darrell spent the early part of his life at the Grafton State School. In April of 1985, he moved into a group home in Mandan. Darrell lived in that home until October of 1990 when he was admitted to the services of Enable, Inc. While at the State Developmental Center, he attended some school education during the years 1963-1969. Darrell was also enrolled in a TMH class in 1972. Darrell was also employed with a cleaning crew at the Fairfield Inn for many years. He was a good worker. Darrell retired and opened a new chapter in his life. Staff encouraged him to make some new friends. Although using a wheelchair by this time, Darrell enjoyed visiting old and new friends at the Enable EDA and ADP programs where he would be greeted and Darrell would smile and shake a lot of friends’ hands. He also had a special friend, Della, at Dakota/Alpha where he would sit around a table and serenade all with his singing. He was a songster! One of his favorite things to do was going for a drive up River Road and past Misty Waters Marina. If you missed a turn or went a different way, he would let you know. Ending an afternoon at Super Valu, Darrell liked to stop for two diet cokes. He would hold up two fingers and say two. If a staff dropped one in the basket and teased, Darrell would look staff in the eye and remind them, two! Darrell carried his basket to the checkout and got to know some of the checkout ladies; home after that for some ice cream and pop, which he loved. Darrell also liked to drive down to the farm and have Irene up to his house as a guest to enjoy some coffee and cake. Darrell would smile at his mom and hold her hand. At home, the kitchen table was his favorite spot. He would wait for the girls to arrive and when they came over to greet him, Darrell would take a hand, shake it, and often cover it with smooches, followed with a hug and a peck on the cheek. Darrell is survived by his mother, Irene; his brothers, Keith and Steve; and his sisters, Gail and Joy. Enable would like to express heartfelt condolences to Darrell’s family. At Darrell’s bedside were all of the East Princeton staff and Chaplain Frank who read scriptures and prayed with us all. Darrell gently slipped away. Assisting Darrell also were Enable nurses, Krystal and Lisa. Thank you all. We wish to acknowledge two former resident supervisors, Kelly Emineth and Jackie Rebel, who had a positive impact on Darrell’s life.