He was born in Colorado to Stephen Barnwell Johnson Sr. and Myrtle (Lewis) Johnson. His family owned and operated Johnson’s House of Flowers on North Avenue. He grew up in Montrose and Grand Junction and attended Grand Junction High School. He was childhood friends with Al Look Jr. and William F. “Bill” Ela. He received a medical degree from the University of Colorado. He served in the US Army from 1943 to 1946, and again from 1949 to 1955. He went onto become a radiologist in Tuscon.