![\"dana](\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/c9d23ad\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1280x720+0+0\/resize\/840x473!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fea%2Ff3%2F2517afe7459cb86594544c9a27ff%2Fdana-golf-pkg-still001.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLEONARD, N.D. \u2014 There’s no better way to honor a loved one who has passed than by throwing a celebration doing something they loved.<\/p>\n
It’s happening this Saturday, June 27, at the Leonard Country Club.<\/p>\n
When Tyler Johnson died suddenly at age 32, his family decided an 18-team golf tournament would be a way to help raise money for his young daughter.<\/p>\n
Once the fog lifted on Thursday, June 25, it was a picture perfect morning at the Leonard Country Club. A perfect color green wherever you looked and while many teed off for fun.<\/p>\n
“That was one of their favorite pictures, one of the last ones before he died,” Marty Johnson said, looking at photos of his son.<\/p>\n
Marty Johnson of Kindred was busy preparing for the fourth annual golf tournament that honors his son, Tyler who died suddenly in 2022, leaving behind wife, Cassie, and young daughter, Brecken.<\/p>\n
“If you look at the pictures, the one common thing you see is his smile and personality,” Marty said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tyler Johnson with his wife, Cassie, and daughter, Brecken.<\/p>\n
Contributed \/ Johnson family<\/p>\n
Money raised from the tournament will go toward Tyler’s daughter, Brecken, who is now six.<\/p>\n
“We don’t talk about how he died, but how he lived,” Marty said.<\/p>\n
It has been a struggle for Marty and his family to deal with the loss. “I sit at home and look at the stars and talk to him,” Marty said.<\/p>\n
His son’s Kindred High School classmates often come back for the tournament, sharing stories of Tyler. It’s a comfort at a time of grief that just doesn’t leave.<\/p>\n
“Everyone wants to know how they can help me. I say ‘Go home, hug your kids and tell them you love them,'” Marty said.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, a warm up in preparation for the Saturday golf tournament and raffle \u2014 Marty and his brother sending a few down the fairway. <\/p>\n
Ready to honor a son with a summer celebration.<\/p>\n
More information on the country club can be found on its website: <\/p>\n
https:\/\/leonardcc.com<\/a><\/p>\n .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Kevin Wallevand has been a reporter at WDAY-TV since 1983. He is a native of Vining, Minnesota in Otter Tail County. His series and documentary work have brought him to Africa, Vietnam, Haiti, Kosovo, South America, Mongolia, Juarez,Mexico and the Middle East. He is an multiple Emmy and national Edward R. Murrow award recipient.<\/p>\n Reach Kevin at kwallevand@wday.com<\/a> or 701-241-5317<\/a>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEONARD, N.D. \u2014 There’s no better way to honor a loved one who has passed than by throwing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":726744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[7205,427,312654,312655,2807,99],"class_list":["post-726743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-fundraisers","tag-golf","tag-kevin-wallevand","tag-kindred","tag-north-dakota","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Kevin](\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/39d4e47\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1080x1080+420+0\/resize\/100x100!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F94%2F8e%2F6ac08de0459d81f03688385e5c0b%2Fkevin-1-headshot-white.png\")
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