Marcus Aurelius Eugene Johnston

Marcus Aurelius Eugene Johnston, 86, passed away Sunday April 27, 2025 in Washington, D.C. He was the oldest male Johnston in known history, though that really only includes his father, William Harald, who died in Sicily in 1943 while fighting the Nazis, his brother George who died in 2012 at the age of 72 and his grandfather Harald who we think died in a farming accident in 1918.

Marcus was born on June 12, 1938 on a farm in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, the son of William and Ruby (Bowman). The family moved west and after the war he grew up in California and Nevada. He served in the United States Marine Corps in the 1950s.

Marcus lived in Sweden from 1969 to 1974, where he received a Masters degree in political science from Stockholm University and was studying towards his PhD.

He met Helena Jansson in 1971 in Stockholm and they were married in May 1974. Marcus helped the Jansson family build and repair homes and piers on Storkrån, an island in the Stockholm archipelago where the family keeps a summer house. 

After a year in San Francisco, Marcus and Helena settled in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1976, where they raised their son and daughter. Marcus worked as a labor negotiator and lobbyist for the Florida School Boards Association from 1976 to 2003, and founded the Florida School Labor Relations Service. Marcus and Helena moved to Washington, D.C., in 2017, to be near their children and grandchildren Lena and Michael.

Marcus was an avid reader and loved a good political debate (especially with his wife). He loved music, the arts, history and philosophy. He was a loving husband and father and was always available for practical advice and encouragement. He had a wonderful wit and infectious sense of humor.

Marcus is survived by his grandchildren and his wife and his children Nicholas, the father of Michael and Lena with Erin (Durkay) and Jessica Fullington and her husband Delorean, and his sister Betty. His sister Nell passed away in 2016.

The family will hold a private remembrance in June as Marcus wasn’t too big on ceremony.