Donald Wayne “Don” Johnson, 79, of Springfield, passed away on October 4th, 2026. Don was born June 2, 1947, to Noel and Ruth Johnson. He graduated from Buffalo High School in 1965, where he was a standout athlete in basketball, baseball and pole vault. After a long sales career with Philip Morris, Don opened Don Johnson’s Tobacco World inContinue Reading
Donald Wayne “Don” Johnson, 79, of Springfield, passed away on October 4th, 2026.
Don was born June 2, 1947, to Noel and Ruth Johnson. He graduated from Buffalo High School in 1965, where he was a standout athlete in basketball, baseball and pole vault.
After a long sales career with Philip Morris, Don opened Don Johnson’s Tobacco World in Springfield, which he and his son Eric ran together until the store was sold in September 2024.
Don was a Master Mason of the Riddick No. 361 Masonic Lodge in Buffalo, MO, for 27 years. Active in the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners, he loved driving in parades and leading fundraisers to support the Shriners Hospital. He was also a lifelong collector of antique cars, clocks, jukeboxes, porcelain signs, and tobacco memorabilia—a passion that even landed him on an episode of American Pickers in October 2016.
Once you met Don, you were his friend. He loved to talk to everyone, and he was a generous man who quietly helped more people than most will ever know.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Noel Johnson and Ruth and Jack Acton; his grandson, Matthew Leary; his brother-in-law, Bill Nimmo; and his nephew, Doug Nimmo.
He is survived by his wife, Michelle; his sister, Mary Nimmo; his brother, Jim Johnson (Karen); his children, Sheila Burkett (Steven), Stephen Johnson (Michele), Deborah Fallon (Tim), Andrea Popovits (Eddie), and Eric Johnson; his stepchildren, Roger Cardinal, Michael Cardinal and Jason Eanes; his grandchildren, John McDonnell (Kate), James McDonnell (Tory Freeman), Taylor Cantrell (Jimmy), Stephen M. Johnson (Paige), Monica DiLorenzo (Angelo), Ashtyn Bradley (Dylan), Steven Burkett III (Amanda), Austin Popovits (Brooke), and Ella Eanes; and his great-grandchildren, Thea, Matthew, and Archer Cantrell; Emrys McDonnell-Freeman and Jett Johnson.
The visitation will be held at Greenlawn North on Tuesday, October 6 from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, followed by the funeral service on Wednesday, October 7 at 12:00 PM (noon).
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the following organizations:
- Shriners Children’s St. Louis
- Office of Philanthropy
- 4400 Clayton Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110
- Phone: 314-325-0015
- Online: Donate Online
- Mid-America Transplant
- 1100 Highlands Plaza Dr. East, Suite #100, St. Louis, MO 63110
- Online: Make a Contribution
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