Mankato, Minnesota - Mark Willard Johnson, Age 41, passed away on March 22nd at The Pillars in Mankato, Minnesota. Mark was a wonderful, devoted husband, father, brother, son and friend prior to his battle with behavioral variant Frontotemporal Dementia, a relatively rare form of dementia, although the most common form for people under age 60.

Mark was born on August 1, 1979 in Worthington, Minnesota, where he lived on the family farm until he graduated from Sioux Valley Round Lake Brewster High School in 1998. He spent two years at Minnesota West Community College before transferring to Minnesota State University in Mankato where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. He worked at HyVee in various departments in high school, and then went on to work at Kato Engineering throughout his college years. Upon graduation, he began a 15-year career as a Manufacturing Engineer at The Toro Company in Windom, Minnesota.

He met his wife Amy in April 2005, and they were married in Worthington, Minnesota on September 23, 2006. They honeymooned in Niagara Falls, ON, Canada and did a good amount of traveling and exploring the world those first few years of marriage, including trips all around the continental US and Alaska, Hawaii and Ireland.

Mark was a vibrant young man, always bringing people together. He was a big Vikings and Twins fan and enjoyed many extra-curricular activities, such as snowmobiling, jet skiing, softball, basketball, training for road races, and, of course, spending time with his family. He was a loving, devoted father and husband and always encouraged his children to think outside the box and try new things and challenge themselves. He loved traveling with his wife and children and exploring, as well as playing board games and going for long walks around town. He took such immense pride in his family and had a hard time not talking about them and their accomplishments.

Mark leaves behind his wife Amy, sons Cashel, Kendrick and Ryan, and daughter Kinsley of Windom, Minnesota. Also surviving are his grandmother, Violet Johnson of Worthington, parents Kent (Pam) Johnson of Worthington and Diane Johnson of Windom as well as siblings Daniel (Iryna) Johnson of LeMoore, California and Sarah (Johannes) Botha of Missouri.

He was preceded in death by his Grandparents Loren Johnson, and Hjalmer and Edith Johnson.

The family asks that donations be made to The Association for Frontotemporal Dementia (theaftd.org) in lieu of flowers so that we can encourage more education, research, treatment and a cure for this awful disease.