Martin Clifton Johnson, M.D.
November 16, 1933 – February 18, 2012
On Saturday afternoon, February 18th, 2012, Martin C. Johnson, M.D. passed on peacefully surrounded by his
loving family at Emanuel Hospital in Portland, Oregon. He was born November 16th, 1933 in Santa Fe, New
Mexico to Henry and Dorothy Johnson, and the youngest brother of Mary Ellon and Von. He spent his early
educational years at McCurdy Mission School in Espanola, New Mexico where he excelled in both academics
and athletics. He then attended Stanford University where he earned a B.S. Degree with Honors in
Immunogenetics. During his undergraduate years, he worked as a student fireman and policeman, rowed on
the Stanford Men’s Crew, was a member of the Alpine Club and R.O.T.C., and worked summers at Crater
Lake National Park in Oregon as a fire control aid and later, at the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado
as a seasonal park ranger.
In the fall of 1955, he entered the Stanford School of Medicine and graduated in 1959 with an established
affinity for neurological sciences. During his medical school years, he met the love of his life, Priscilla Bollam,
then a nursing student at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco. They were married the day prior
to his graduation from medical school on June 13th, 1959. During his summers in medical school, he worked
as a fire control aid for the Bureau of Land Management and later as a big game hunting guide in Alaska. He
completed his surgical internship at Stanford, and subsequently moved to Rochester, Minnesota to begin a
fellowship in neurosurgery at Mayo Clinic. That fall, their first son, Marty was born. His training in
neurosurgery was interrupted in 1961 when he was drafted into the U.S. Navy and assigned to the U.S.S. St.
Paul as a Junior Lieutenant and surgeon. While stationed in Yokohama, Japan his second son, Kurt, was
born. He and his family then returned to the United States where he spent a year at the Presbyterian Medical
Center as a resident general surgeon training under the mentorship of Dr. Victor Richards. Martin resumed his
neurosurgical training at the University of Cincinnati in 1964 with Drs. Frank Mayfield and Robert McLauren. In
1966, his first daughter, Kirsten was born, and he completed his fellowship in neurosurgery in 1968.
Martin and his family then moved to Portland, Oregon in the summer of 1968 where he entered private practice
as an adult and pediatric neurosurgeon practicing primarily at Emanuel Hospital. His daughter Kate was born
the following year. During his subsequent 40 years of active neurosurgical practice in Portland, he was a
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics, Congress of Neurological
Surgeons, and the International Pediatric Society of Neurological Surgery, in addition to many other
professional affiliations and honors. He took special pride in being instrumental in establishing Emanuel
Hospital as a Level One Trauma Center and as a base for Life Flight services. He was an inspirational teacher
with many medical students and residents as beneficiaries. He saved many lives and improved the existence
of a countless number of people. He followed many of his patients for decades, often from infancy to
adulthood, with an uncompromising degree of dedication and compassion.
After his initial tour of duty in the Navy, Martin remained in the military as an officer in the reserves, ultimately
retiring in 1998 as a full colonel in the U.S. Army. From November 1990 through April 1991, he was again
called up for active duty with 50th General Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he was the Chief of
Neurosurgery during the Gulf War. Upon returning to civilian life, he resumed his private practice in pediatric
and general neurosurgery and also served as a board-certified physician in forensic medicine, ultimately
retiring from active medical practice in 2009.
Martin enjoyed many activities outside of medicine. He loved flying and remarkably found time to earn his
private, commercial, and instrument ratings, and flew many cross-country flights with Priscilla as his licensed
co-pilot and as a member of the Columbia Aviation Club. He wrote a book published in 2004 chronicling his
life experiences to that point. He loved reading with interests spanning all branches of science as well as art,
literature and history. He considered himself “a naturalist” and clearly was happiest in the outdoors spending
time with his family and beloved German shepherds—often with the rallying cry: “Fish on!” He frequently
commented that his proudest achievement was his family—including his fifty-two years of marriage shared with
Priscilla, their four children and their families as well.
Martin was far more than just a summary of his many accomplishments. He possessed an enormous zest for
life and approached each day with a sense of purpose and adventure. He also retained a great sense of
humor and often commented on life’s many ironies. He was a man of impeccable integrity who was intensely
loyal and passionate in his devotion to his family and beliefs. This is succinctly stated in the epilogue from his
book in which he states: “I have never wavered from what I felt was my duty to humanity.” Martin clearly
made the world a better place, and his loved ones will forever expect him “back after rounds…”
Martin is survived by Priscilla and his four children and their families: Marty and his wife Lisa and children
Zachary and Kimberly; Kurt and his wife Mary and children Jonah, Nathaniel, and Beatrice; Kirsten and her
husband Tom and children Andrew and Matthew; Kate, and his two German shepherds, Dieter and Kitzel.