Robert E. Johns, 86,of Minneapolis Avenue, died Tuesday, February 26, 2002, in St Mary's Medical Center.

He was born January 20, 1916, in Duluth to Edgar and Elizabeth (Woolway) Johns. Bob graduated from Central High School in 1934. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran of WWII serving as a chief petty officer in the Pacific, including Pearl Harbor, the Marshall islands, Okinawa and Japan. He served on the U.S.S.. Pierce, the LST Landing Ship and the U.S.S. heavy cruiser, the Salt Lake City, until 1946. In 1947, he started his career in banking as a clerk in the original First National Bank. He was promoted to senior clerk in 1956 in the Trust Department at the new First American National Bank. In 1974, he was promoted to trust officer specializing in income tax, a position he held until his retirement in 1980. He never missed a day of work in 35 years of working in the bank He continued to work part-time in the operations area in the bank for 10 years following his retirement. He was a member of the 25 year club with Norwest and Wells Fargo Bank. He was a member of St. John's Catholic Church, served on the financial counsel at St John's, and he coached the St. John's grade school basketball team for many years. He was a member of the American Legion Post #571. Bob was passionate about his family's heritage at Isle Royale of which one island still bears the family name "Johns lsland". His family went to Isle Royale in 1865 to mine copper, fish commercially, and build the first hotel on Isle Royale, located in Washington Harbor named the Johns Hotel, currently being restored by the Johns Family.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Elizabeth; a daughter. Cynthia (Joe) of Duluth; four sons, Robert of St Paul, William (Thanh) of New Hampshire, Thomas (Ann) of Duluth, and Patrick (Patricia) of Coon Rapids; grandchildren, Arthur (Karen), Roni, Tasha, Thania, Sean, Susanna, Linnea and Annie Johns, Jennifer (Jason), Jessica and Ben Giesen; and three great-grandchildren.