news and events » obituaries

Obituaries Header

Obituaries

return to Obituaries

Stewart S. "Lloyd" Johnson ( McCall 1943 )

posted: Sep 23, 2017

Lloyd, 101, died September 19, 2017, in Fruitland, Idaho. He was born June 2, 1916. His parents were early McCall pioneers.

He graduated from McCall H.S. and attended the University of Utah and the University of Idaho. Lloyd was an avid outdoorsman and, at age seven, was proclaimed the "world's smallest ski jumper" at the McCall Winter Carnival. He was active in skiing until age 90 and was instrumental in promoting Sun Valley and skiing in Idaho.

Lloyd worked for the USFS for many years and was the original smokejumper at McCall when the base was established in 1943. He jumped at McCall 1943-53 and has been recognized nationally as the oldest living smokejumper until his passing. Of smokejumping he said, "We never lost a fire because we got on them early."

In 1954 Lloyd move to Fruitland where he was the owner of a Westcott Oil distributorship until his retirement. After retirement, he managed the New Plymouth Cenex Farm Center for ten years.

Lloyd was a Pioneer Smokejumper and one of the founding fathers of the profession.