On June 23rd, 2024 we lost a very special person, forward-thinking HVAC contractor, industry influencer, great father and husband, and a pillar of his Christian community. The legacy Tom Johnson leaves behind in every aspect of his life will undoubtedly endure for generations to come.

I knew Tom as a friend, lifetime learner, ethical contractor, carbon monoxide evangelist, and intensely serious yet affable NCI instructor. I also knew him as the all-around fun-loving guy I met along with his ever-cheerful wife, Corrie many years ago at HVAC Comfortech.

But it wasn’t until Tom’s celebration service after his passing that I learned about the other incredible facets of Tom’s life. For starters, those who knew Tom in his early years recounted stories of a daredevil athlete who never stood down from a challenge.

His Daredevil Youth

Tom Johnson is celebrated and will be missed
Tom Johnson

In his youth and adult life he played basketball and football, was an avid snow skier, water skier, boater, jet skier, fisherman, hunter, cyclist and motorcyclist. He also pretty much jumped head-first into any adventure that presented itself!

Tom truly lived his faith. During his memorial service, some of his closest friends described how involved he was in his community and his church. Besides being a leader of his church’s men’s group for many years, he was known for cooking and serving breakfast for their youth group in his garage every Thursday morning. In other words, he embodied his faith in too many ways to describe in this short tribute.

A Career Focused on Community

Furthermore, as a contractor, along with his brother Mark, Tom built an incredible reputation for TM Johnson Bros in the town of Cambridge, MN over the past three decades. The company has the reputation in their community as the go-to expert, especially when it comes to keeping their homes safe from carbon monoxide.

In an article he wrote in December of 2017, Tom shared his journey to “Becoming a Local Carbon Monoxide Evangelist.” He was adamant that every one of his technicians and plumbers undergo “NCI training and certification before going into the field – no matter where he had to send them.”

Training was at the very core of what propelled his third generation company into a top contracting business. Everyone at TM Johnson Bros undergoes about 200 hours of internal and external training each year.

In Tom’s words back in 2014, “Training keeps the techs engaged in the company. We believe making the investment in training shows them the company cares about our customers, so they do too.”

Sharing with the Industry

Tom was very active with his local associations, and he wrote numerous articles over the years. Some included in past issues of this magazine are:

Tom’s company was an NCI 2014 Contractor of The Year. He won several other NCI awards including our 2016 Chairman’s Award, 2017 Training Excellence Award, and 2018 David Debien Technical Excellence Award. This magazine featured Tom as a Top Industry Influencer in 2020.

Tom, we know you are watching us from heaven, likely hanging out with Rob Falke and sharing stories of glory days. I have a feeling you now have a special job to watch over those in danger of CO poisoning. Godspeed my friend. You will be sorely missed, but not forgotten.