Ray Johnson Memorial Fund

My brother Ray sadly passed away today. He fought the very best fight he could, but his lungs and organs were too damaged to go on any longer. He was blessed that his family was with him all day and completely surrounded in love as he passed. Sherry, the girls, their families,  and I are so grateful for all of the support we have received: the encouraging words, the multitude of prayers, and keeping us in your thoughts.  We are also humbled by the many, many, generous donations Raymonds-Fight has received in such a short period of time. Unfortunately, the medical bills will continue to pile up, and now funeral expenses as well. I ask you to please continue to share this GoFundMe  site with everyone you know.  Ray's family needs your support more than ever right now.

Thank you,

Steph (Ray's sister)





Hi, I am Ray.  I am a proud and stubborn 59-year-old man and have been married to my beautiful wife, Sherry, for almost 40 years. We have 3 beautiful daughters, 3 wonderful sons-in-law, and 9 grandchildren that are the light of our lives and call me Boppa. I cannot forget my favorite furry pals (Fredrick, Sharlee, and Oscar) that keep me going when the going gets tough! In 2014, I was diagnosed with Primary Progressive MS.    It was hard to leave the job I loved at Polaris in 2015 when I was forced to go on disability due to the aggressive nature of my MS.  Since then my life has changed a lot.

Most of you that know me are aware that I am a very determined person and have made adjustments to my life that allow me to do as much as my body will allow. For those of that don't know me at all, but have gotten to this site by some random miracle (for which I am eternally grateful), I am a busy man that has lots to do and sitting around feeling sorry for myself or allowing others to do things for me is just not my style. I have installed a ramp on my home so I could get into my house with my new power wheelchair (I like to call it my Maserati!), I have rehung kitchen cabinets, installed bathroom plumbing and wiring, chopped wood, and many other labor-intensive jobs. I don't take life for granted and am appreciative of everything I do have. 

I have a string of medical teams between the U of M and the Mayo Clinic.  In August of 2019, I was hospitalized for 36 days with a staph infection in my knee and a blood clot in my leg.  That was tough, but I fought back and won. 

Last month, I was admitted into our small regional hospital on December 22nd with what they thought might be pneumonia.   On December 24th,  I was transported to Abbott Northwestern Hospital and am currently in the ICU.   The doctors do not know what kind of pneumonia I have. They have been doing many tests and cultures for a variety of things,  but everything is coming back negative including four Covid-19 tests.  We have all struggled with the pandemic and I have been incredibly cautious in regard to quarantine. With an immune system as weakened as mine one has to be incredibly diligent which I have, but here I sit in an ICU. Please take care of yourself!!

I was on a bipap and am receiving between  89-100% oxygen.  I now have a feeding tube and will be seeing a lung specialist.   Please send prayers my way. My wife will be sending updates and I will try to read any good wishes you may send. Thank you, Ray.

Please visit my CaringBridge  site for updates.