Lorne Norman Johnson, MBA, CFA

Lorne Norman Johnson, age 71, passed away peacefully on October 23, 2023, in Calgary, Alberta.

Lorne was predeceased by his parents, E. Norman (Norm) and Alba (nee McLeod) Johnson.  He leaves to mourn him his wife and best friend of 43 years, Debbie (nee Mesko/Mysko) and their beloved daughter, Morgan (Justin), sister-in-law Judi Majkut (Joe), brother-in-law Barry Mysko (Debbie), many nieces and nephews, plus numerous cousins in the Johnson and McLeod families.

Lorne was born November 4, 1951, in Saskatoon, SK, where his father, Norm, was concluding his Masters in Agriculture at the University of Sask.  Upon graduation, Norm was hired as an Agricultural Representative (Ag Rep) by the Sask. Dept of Agriculture, and he, with his family, was posted first to Maidstone, then Swift Current, and eventually Regina.

Lorne attended Campbell Collegiate High School in Regina and then went on to get a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the then-fledgling University of Regina.

He was hired immediately after graduation by the Sask. Power Corporation, where he worked for twenty-five years, rising to the position of Corporate Treasurer.

In 1998, Lorne got his MBA from the University of Sask. in Saskatoon.  Then, in 1999, ENMAX Corp. in Calgary hired him to head their Treasury operations.  Lorne went on to do consulting, focusing on risk management and foreign currency hedging strategies for corporations.

In addition to his family, Lorne had three passions in life – baseball, investing in the stock market, and travelling.

From a very young age, Lorne loved baseball.  His favourite team was the St. Louis Cardinals because when he was a child, this was the only MLB team whose games he could pick up (when atmospheric conditions were right) on the radio.  One year, when he was a young teen, the family drove to Minneapolis on vacation and Lorne got to see the Minnesota Twins and live baseball.  This was the first of his about 55 annual trips to Minneapolis to watch the Twins play – initially with his parents, then on his own, then with Debbie and Morgan.  He personally watched many greats play, including Mickey Mantle, Harmon Killebrew, Carl Yastrzemski, and Kirby Puckett, at 3 successive MLB stadiums in Minneapolis.

Lorne encouraged Morgan to join Little League baseball in Regina and enjoyed helping to coach her teams.  At Sask. Power, he was a very keen participant in baseball (and football) pools, delighting in contributing rules and regulations to enhance enjoyment and foster competition.

Lorne introduced Debbie to travelling when they first married.  The first trip that Lorne took her on was to The Black Hills, South Dakota (en route to Minneapolis).  Debbie, who had not much travelled to that point, wondered why he was taking her to see some mounds of black dirt.  In addition to the annual Minneapolis trips, Lorne and Debbie also went on other baseball-focused vacations each year (although Debbie wasn’t quite as enthralled with the games as Lorne).  They loved to play golf and tennis together and planned many of their trips (especially to the US) around these sports.  Major vacations in their life included a month driving around Florida when Debbie was pregnant, a month spent in New Zealand and Australia with a 5-year-old Morgan, and a month in Rome, Paris, and London as Morgan’s university graduation present.  Another favourite vacation destination was the Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire (always combined with baseball games in Boston), and this was where the family had their last vacation together in 2018.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada at www.alzheimer.ca or the Toronto Blue Jays’ foundation, Jays Care at www.jayscaredonate.com.

At Lorne’s request, no funeral or memorial services will be held. 

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