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[sanddunerider]

Posted today on FB... 

A real loss... 
Prayers to his family,  His SDC family and all his friends.

No info on cause of death... Just his passing.

[shavethewhales]

Ouch, that is actually painful to hear. Ray Johnson, for those of you who might not remember instantly, was SDC's resident knife maker. He was one of those irreplaceable craftsmen who still held the stories and values of the old days. Watching him make a knife was one of the highlights of my last trip to the park. He will be dearly missed.

[runner1960]

How ironic, I had fiddled with the idea of a Ray Johnson knife for years but just could not justify the cost. 2 weeks ago when we visited I watched Ray again and went inside after his demonstration. Spoke to the guys about the knives like I always do and with the wife's blessing purchased a Ray Johnson Damascus steel 4" blade.  Ray was a unique individual and certainly added character to the park. He will be irreplaceable.

[Gilligan]

Sorry to hear that...the hubs just commented on what a nice fellow he was.  He said he enjoyed talking with him several times. He says he was also an electrical engineer before he retired.  It will be difficult to replace him.  Runner, it was always hubs dream to have one of his knives, also.  He doesn't have one yet.

[MCLFLN]

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsdToFWCUAActZQ.jpg:large | RayJohnson, We will miss your knifemaking talents,humor,poetry&mostly YOU. With love, The Citizens @SDCAttractions pic.twitter.com/Ktrv62KJQ8

[MCLFLN]

Correction --> more like impossible to replace

Does anybody know if he even had any apprentices?

[DeweyBald]

As was my dream as well.  Last time I was there I stood there and visited with him for quite a while.  He daughter attended Oklahoma State so we would always talk about Oklahoma and the Cowboys.  What a great loss this is to SDC.  Prayers to his family.

[runner1960]

Correction --> more like impossible to replace

Does anybody know if he even had any apprentices?

I do know they have another knife maker on site. I looked at his work also. Not sure if he was a apprentice or not.

[How-doFolks]

Sad to hear. Interesting guy. We watched him make a knife back in the early 2000s.
Thoughts & Prayers.

[sanddunerider]

I read on Terry Sander's FB page that Cancer took him......  Terrible shame.......   

They wont be able to replace him....!

[MCLFLN]

https://www.twitter.com/SDCAttractions/status/488740954116202496/photo/1

They just posted this to Twitter.

[Ozark Woodcarver]

A friend just sent me this link to his obituary.  He will certainly be missed.
http://www.obitsforlife.com/obituary/945054/Johnson-Chester.php

[Junior, too!]

All best wishes to his family and friends and God bless.

[Preachin_Bill]

This is terrible to hear.  Ray was a favorite of mine and my father's.  Dad bought one of his knives two years ago; I'm glad he did.  People like Ray are not going to come back, once they are gone they are gone.  He was quite the character and really loved his craft and the backwoods of his Arkansas and Missouri home.  We listened to him many times over the years and when Dad bought his knife Ray was very personable with us and loved talking about the knife and the things we could do with it and what we planned to do with it.  He hoped we would use it instead of just sticking it on the mantle, and we have.
He fought cancer.
Rest in Peace, good Sir.  You will be missed.

[biscuitcreek]

Here's the article that Branson Tri-Lakes wrote about Ray earlier this week:

http://bransontrilakesnews.com/entertainment/article_230065fe-0c4a-11e4-a8a1-001a4bcf887a.html