Gary Johnson spouse Dee Johnson
Early life and career
Johnson was born on January 1, 1953, in Minot, North Dakota, the son of Lorraine B. (née Bostow), who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Earl W. Johnson, a public school teacher and World War II Army veteran who participated in the Invasion of Normandy and fought at the Battle of Bastogne, earning three Purple Hearts during his service in the 101st Airborne Division. In 1971, Johnson graduated from Sandia High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he was on the school track team. He attended the University of New Mexico from 1971 to 1975 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science. While at UNM, he joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. It was there that he met his future wife, Denise "Dee" Simms.While in college, Johnson earned money as a door-to-door handyman. His success in that industry encouraged him to start his own business, Big J Enterprises, in 1976. When he started the business, which focused on mechanical contracting, Johnson was its only employee. His firm's major break came when he received a large contract from Intel's expansion in Rio Rancho, which increased Big J's revenue to $38 million.To cope with the growth of the company, Johnson enrolled in a time management course at night school, which he credits with making him heavily goal driven. He eventually grew Big J into a multimillion-dollar corporation with over 1,000 employees. By the time he sold the company in 1999, it was one of New Mexico's leading construction companies.Personal life
Johnson was married to his college girlfriend, Dee Johnson (née Simms; 1952–2006) from 1977 to 2005. As First Lady of New Mexico, she engaged in campaigns against smoking and for breast cancer awareness and oversaw the expansion of the Governor's Mansion. He initiated a separation in May 2005, and four months later announced that they would divorce. At the age of 54, Dee Johnson died unexpectedly on December 22, 2006, her cause of death later attributed to hypertensive heart disease. The couple had two children, now adults. He also has a granddaughter, Cora, through his son Erik.Johnson was an avid triathlete who biked extensively. During his term in office, he competed in several triathlons, marathons and bike races. He competed three times (1993, 1997, 1999) as a celebrity invitee at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, registering his best time for the 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, 112-mile (180 km) bike ride, and 26.2-mile (42.2 km) marathon run in 1999 with 10 hours, 39 minutes, and 16 seconds. He once ran 100 miles (160 km) in 30 consecutive hours in the Rocky Mountains. On May 30, 2003, he reached the summit of Mount Everest "despite toes blackened with frostbite." He has climbed all of the Seven Summits: Mount Everest, Mount Elbrus, Denali, Mount Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Mount Vinson, and Carstensz Pyramid – the tallest peaks in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, South America, Antarctica, and Australia respectively. He completed the Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, in which participants traverse a 26.2 mi (42.2 km) course through the desert, many of them in combat boots and wearing 35-pound (16 kg) packs.On October 12, 2005, Johnson was involved in a near-fatal paragliding accident when his wing caught in a tree and he fell approximately 50 feet (15 m) to the ground. He suffered multiple bone fractures, including a burst fracture to his twelfth thoracic vertebra, a broken rib, and a broken knee; the accident left him 1+1⁄2 inches (3.8 cm) shorter. He used medicinal marijuana for pain control from 2005 to 2008.Johnson is a Lutheran and has said that his belief in God has given him "a very fundamental belief that we should do unto others as we would have others do unto us."Johnson has celiac disease and maintains a gluten-free diet.
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