Donald Dale Johnson was born on February 4, 1925, to Adolph and Martha Johnson. A resident of Brookings, South Dakota, he remained unmarried. Johnson preserved family and local history through his contributions to the South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, including the Donald D. Johnson Papers. The collection contains a narrative about his grandfather, Johan Peter Johnson, a Swedish immigrant born in 1854, and a publication titled The Quill from Marion High School dedicated to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Johnson of Hartford, South Dakota.