This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Funeral services for former state legislator Duayne T. Johnson will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Granger West 4th Ward, with a viewing Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the McDougal Funeral Home at 4330 S. Redwood Road. Johnson, who served in the House of Representatives from 1979 to 1984, died of leukemia Saturday, one week before his 84th birthday. Johnson, a Democrat who represented West Valley City, bucked the Ronald Reagan-inspired Republican tide by winning his bid for re-election to second and third terms in 1980 and 1982. But he was known as a conservative Democrat, enabling him to work well with both the Republicans and members of his own party. He led the fight in the Utah Legislature for tougher laws against drunken drivers and was an inaugural member of the Governor's Commission on Drunk Driving in the early 1980s. Active in transportation and public safety appropriations matters, Johnson served on the Transportation Committee of the Western States Legislative Conference. He served on the Salt Lake Community College Board of Trustees from 1985 to 1993 and at the time of his death was a member of the Utah State Fair Board. Born in Vernal, he moved to Salt Lake County after serving in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II and marrying Venna Nellie Goodrich, but he owned a ranch in Uintah County for most of his life. Venna died in 1983. Eight years later, he married Doris Ann Moore, who survives him, along with seven children, 28 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.


