Mack Stuart Johnsen

Mack Stuart Johnsen passed away unexpectedly on July 25, 2023, following surgery. He was 75 years old and had been living with his wife of nearly 47 years, Tamra Busch-Johnsen, in Wilsonville, Oregon. Mack never met a stranger he didn’t like. He often talked for many minutes to anyone wherever he would go. He always helped people. From inviting total strangers to dinner (who he just met at Home Depot) to sending money to a student from Bigfork High School in Montana after reading in the newspaper that she had overcome a turbulent journey in her life and was graduating from high school. Mack had a related story for each person he met and left them having made new friends. A current Wilsonville Chamber employee summarized him best: “Mack’s legacy is being a wonderful human being. The world would be a better place if we would all follow his example.” Because Mack suffered from a rare muscle disease in his later years, Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM) and because he always wanted to help others, his family encourages supporting the on-going research of this rare disease through your generous gift in Mack’s name to the Peter Frampton Myositis Research Fund at the John Hopkins Myositis Center. Please visit: www.secure.jhu.edu/form/Frampton or by writing a check made payable to John Hopkins University and mail to: The John Hopkins Myositis Center Development Office, Mason F. Lord Building Center Tower, Suite 358, 5200 Eastern Ave. Baltimore, MD 21224. Mack was born in Tacoma, Washington on May 11, 1948, to Marjorie and Palmer Johnsen. Because he suffered from asthma attacks each spring, his parents moved Mack and his older sister, Judy, to a drier climate in Spokane, Washington (1950) and then to Kalispell, Montana (1952.) Mack’s love of animals began with family dogs, cats, turtles and his own pony at age 5, followed by his first horse, Star. The summer before Mack began 8th grade, his family moved to Mossyrock, Washington. Mack missed his friends in Kalispell, some of whom have remained good friends until his death. Then came friendships through school and sports in Mossyrock and eventually at Washington High School in Portland, Oregon where he graduated in 1967. Mack attended Portland State College (later renamed Portland State University) and earned a Doctor of Dental Medicine in 1974 from the University of Oregon Dental School, (later named Oregon Health and Science University). Mack’s first dental job was with a Portland oral surgeon, where he met his wife, Tamra. Tamra was referred by friends who knew Mack worked for an oral surgeon. Mack did a follow-up home visit to Tamra after her wisdom teeth removal. They were married a year later. Mack also worked a short time with a dentist in Yamhill County before opening his own practice in Wilsonville in 1977. Mack was always more than a dentist. He believed in creating a practice where people were part of his life. As a result, many of his patients became his good friends. He helped those patients who were experiencing tough times, trading dental work for a variety of things: chicken/beef meat, eggs, car or driveway repairs, hay, etc. His bookkeeper joked that she’d need to get a corral outside the dental office for payments. He delivered patients back to their homes if they had later appointments and his core staff stayed with him for more than 20 + years. Mack was a caring and trustworthy dentist, always putting his patients’ well-being first and foremost above his own livelihood. Mack and Tamra loved horses and dogs. They gave each other a horse as their wedding presents. They both also loved antiques. A friend tipped them off about a historic 1860’s farmhouse and acreage outside of Wilsonville which became the perfect setting for raising their two sons, Brandon and Travis. Mack trained hunting dogs and for many years competed in field trials on horseback, earning a field championship for one of his dogs and then became a field trial judge. However, once he had kids, Brandon and Travis became the focus of Mack’s life outside of work. Mack was an excellent father, always involved in Brandon and Travis’s baseball and soccer games from elementary school on up. He took Brandon bird hunting with the family dogs almost every weekend during hunting season. He started both boys playing golf, encouraging them to be the best they could be. When Brandon went off to college, Mack took Travis golfing to a variety of great golf courses with friends. He was so very proud of his two sons and enjoyed golfing, hunting, horseback riding, camping and attending music events with them. He encouraged them to play a musical instrument, which both did, and Mack learned to play the bass guitar so all could practice together. Music was always playing in the home and trips in the truck. He also taught them to cook as he was the family cook. As he got closer to retirement, he took up woodworking, creating many beautiful items that are in his home or his kids’ homes. Mack was very involved in his community. On Fridays he would volunteer in Brandon’s or Travis’s classrooms at their elementary and middle schools, often tutoring students in math. He had local kindergarten students visit his dental office demonstrating the tools of his profession and having kids guess the number of teeth using teeth models. He became involved in the Lion’s Club for many years and also joined the Wilsonville Chamber of Commerce, serving as President in 1993 and receiving the Chamber’s President‘s Award. He stayed involved as a member for more than 30 years. He believed in ongoing education and became active in the Gnathology NW (a branch of specialized dentistry) study club which met every month. Mack secured well known experts in dental techniques, supporting the growth and expertise of dentists in the Portland area and in Salem. He also was a member of the Oregon Dental Association. He retired in 2016. Mack was preceded in death by his parents, Marjorie and Palmer Johnsen. He is survived by wife, Tamra, sons, Brandon (Kara) and Travis, his sister, Judy, and numerous nieces and nephews. His family invites you to Mack’s Celebration of Life service on Sunday, August 27th at 1:00 p.m. at Community of Hope Church, 27817 SW Stafford Rd, Wilsonville, Oregon

Mack Stuart Johnsen

May 11, 1948 - July 25, 2023