Johannes Floisand

Johannes (John) Floisand “graduated” from earthly life on Thursday, October 13, 2022, in Bountiful, Utah.  He was 90 years old.  He was born September 18, 1932, in Bergen, Norway, to Ivar Martin Floisand and Agnes Marie Rasmussen Floisand.  He was the fourth of seven children.  His brothers and sisters were Willard, Elna, Lizzie, Amy, Harald, and Trygve.

John grew up in the beautiful coastal town of Bergen, Norway.  His life was rich with family heritage, adventure, and history.  But things were tough for their family while growing up.  They lived in a small apartment and struggled to make ends meet.  The kids did what they could to help earn money for their family.  When John was almost eight years old, on the morning of April 8, 1940, the people of Bergen awoke to learn that foreign troops had invaded during the night.  These Nazi soldiers introduced a new lifestyle, governed by stern military laws.  This new lifestyle painted the future dark and grim for everyone in Norway.  Any travel or communication out of Norway was cut off.  For the members of the Church, this meant that all communication with the Prophet and the Church was cut off as well.  The branch president blessed the Saints in Bergen that they would be protected if they continued to live the gospel of Jesus Christ to the best of their ability.  Because of this inspired promise and their righteous living, the Lord protected the Saints in the Bergen branch from harm during those five war years.  John told many interesting stories of the war, some of which were shared in past issues of the Church News.

John was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 27, 1940.  He noticed a pretty little blond-haired girl with pigtails, who was getting baptized on the same day.  Who would have guessed that 18 years later and halfway across the world he would end up marrying that pretty blond-haired girl!

His family emigrated from Norway to the United States in 1948.  His mom, sisters, and youngest brother left first, then he and his dad and other brothers followed on a later ship.  He was very seasick on that trip across the Atlantic.  Once while hanging his head out the window of the ship to throw up, someone else from an upper deck unknowingly was doing the same thing and threw up all over his head.

His family settled in the Rose Park area.  John decided it was time to get a job, and eventually was hired at a restaurant up by the University of Utah.  Unfortunately, he did not speak a lot of English yet, so communication was difficult especially with his supervisor.  She was unaware of the language barrier and was very tough on him.  Later, he got a job delivering office supplies around Salt Lake City.  He really enjoyed this job because he got to drive around all day.  Then his mom told him he needed a better-paying job—which he did.  Years later he retired after having a long career at Eimco.  He worked in the research and development department and was able to travel throughout the country.

Before he was married, he joined the National Guard.  Soon after, he was drafted into the Army and deployed to serve in the Korean War, though his unit was stationed in Germany.  While serving in Germany, he finally became a citizen of the United States.  During his deployment, he was assigned to a mobile mechanic shop, where he used his skills on tanks and trucks, etc.  When his military leaders learned that he was Norwegian, they immediately put him on the 7^th Army Cross Country Ski Team, competing with other Army and Airforce units.  He loved this adventure!  He participated in many competitions throughout the beautiful mountains of Europe.  In one competition, he took second place while finishing with a broken ski pole.

Following his military service, John reconnected with the pretty blond-haired girl after she too had moved to Salt Lake City.  She stayed with his family in Rose Park until she was able to get a job and find an apartment.  By then, John was smitten.  He pursued a relationship and eventually married his sweetheart, Orlaug Berith Folkedal, on November 20, 1958, in the Salt Lake Temple.  Together they raised their family of eight children in Bountiful.  While their children were young, they enjoyed packing everyone in their van and traveling to Yellowstone or Washington to see family.  Once someone happened to glance inside the van while at a gas station and exclaimed, “How many kids DO YOU HAVE in there?”

They loved watching their family grow and have a special love for each member of their family—especially their grandchildren and great grandchildren.  There are known as grandpa and grandma great.  Oh, how he loved his grandchildren!  He was so proud of each of them.  When they were young, he frequently bounced them on his knee and sang to them.  His favorite song to perform was, “How Much is that Doggie in the Window.”  As the grandkids grew up, he proudly followed their accomplishments and they each always held a special place in his heart.

John was an honest, kind, caring, and compassionate person.  He had a deep love for his family heritage and enjoyed doing family history work.  He and Berith submitted countless names for temple work over the years.  He served in several Church callings over the years and was a faithful home teacher throughout his life.  Along with family history callings, he also loved working with the Boy Scouts—taking them camping, biking, etc.  His children often joined him on the activities.  He was very talented at fixing things.  He was so good at fixing up old stuff that the kids were sometimes disappointed because they never got anything new!  John’s talent for mechanical work was passed down to some of his children and grandchildren.  Even on his last day, he commented that the warranty had expired on his parts, and it was time to move on.

John passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 13, 2022, after a precious day spent with his family.  He “graduated with honors” and is now enjoying a wonderful reunion with his parents and siblings.  He is survived by Berith, his beautiful bride of 64 years, and eight children:  Linda (Steve) Shirley of Midvale; Mike (Stephanie) Floisand of West Valley; Heidi (Warren) Stuart of Layton; Harald (Kona) Floisand of Kaysville; Lisa (Jason) Moseley of West Jordan; Steve (Leslie) Floisand of South Jordan; Judy Bee Floisand of West Jordan; and Jim Floisand of Bountiful.  They also have 19 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren, with one more on the way.  John was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings.

Funeral Services will be Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at 11:00 a.m., in the Val Verda 3^rd Ward building, 2651 South 500 West, Bountiful, Utah.  A viewing will be Monday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Russon Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful, and Tuesday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church prior to services.  Interment will be in the Bountiful City Cemetery. 

Services will be streamed live on the Russon Brothers Mortuary Facebook page and on this obituary page.  The live stream will begin about 10-15 minutes prior to the service and will be posted below.

Services will also be streamed on the following Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/98661979599?pwd=eUVMWU1hOWVxSnROa0hjMWJNZVFUZz09.

The family would like to thank Courtney Harper with House Call Doctors, as well as the doctors, nurses, and aides at Lakeview Hospital for their tender and compassionate care.