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When Ray Johnson, formerly of Cosmos, enrolled in the Machine Tool program in 1981 at ������ (then Willmar Area Vocational Technical Institute), he likely had no idea what an impact it would have on his life. Once he launched and owned JMD Manufacturing of Willmar for 32 years, Johnson knew he wanted to give back to his alma mater to help change other people’s lives as well.

He just probably didn’t anticipate it would happen before he retired. Johnson, most recently from Kandiyohi, died from cancer June 30, 2023, at the age of 61.

His legacy will live on though. Beginning Fall Semester 2024, Ridgewater students in manufacturing programs will be eligible to apply for the first Ray Johnson Memorial Scholarships for Spring Semester 2025. Johnson’s $1 million estate donation is the largest donation on record for the ������ Foundation, according to Foundation Executive Director Kelly Magnuson.

Annually, some very fortunate students will receive full tuition and fees support for their education in such programs as Machine Tool Technology, Computer-Aided Drafting and Design, Welding, and Nondestructive Testing Technology. An endowment of this size will typically generate $40,000-$50,000 in scholarship dollars each year.

“We are deeply honored and grateful to Ray for putting his trust in us to carry out his wishes in this way,” Magnuson said. “His generosity will impact students and our community for years and years to come.”

“Ray was very passionate about trade programs,” explained Susan Laabs, Johnson’s longtime companion from Grove City. “He would often say, ‘A machinist made that, or an engineer designed that, or someone had to draw that, program it, run it, and make it.’” He couldn’t say enough about how technical programs are important in helping people succeed, Laabs said.

“I am so proud that Ray did this,” Laabs said, to donate so much from the very estate he grew from his use of his own technical skills and the skills of his half a dozen employees who were like family.

Johnson’s staff at JMD Manufacturing create a wide variety of machining parts for many other companies. Laabs, who worked at Johnson’s company for many years before retiring, said a couple of the well-known products were swing-away mailbox posts and agricultural drainage pumps.

In 2022, Johnson was diagnosed with cancer. He was planning to retire in about a year, and so was creating a personal shop at home to continue small jobs and tinkering in his retirement, according to Laabs, but the cancer progressed faster than anticipated, and instead, he began planning his legacy.

Mike Kutzke, longtime friend of Johnson and Ridgewater vice president of student success, was instrumental in helping Johnson with the first steps of creating his endowment fund with the Ridgewater Foundation. He also spoke at Johnson’s funeral.

“Ray was my neighbor and friend growing up,” Kutzke said. “He was an inventor and innovator from an early age and could imagine something in his mind and then create it. He was a gifted mechanic and always had the drive to be the best and create the best in everything he was involved in.” Kutzke said he is so proud that Johnson’s spirit will live on. “As Ray and I talked about this gift to ������ students, he highlighted how important his time at ������ was to him, personally and professionally. He wanted to share his success with students, his career field, and the community. Even in his passing, Ray continues to give back by creating opportunities for others to be their very best also.”

The educational impact is expected to be broad, since Ridgewater offers manufacturing programs on both Willmar and Hutchinson campuses, as well as online.

For more information about ways to give to support ������ and its students, go to Ridgewater.edu/foundation.

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