Alumni Spotlight: Skip Johnson builds community in Carnation

Skip and Linda are pictured with Frank Sebenius and “Boone the pup reporter” at the Carnation 4th of July Parade.

The Brady Bunch comes to mind when I think of Skip and Linda Johnson. Skip (Tod) and Linda met through the choir of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in 1983. Tod had six children and Linda three.

“I thought, ‘What kind of woman is going to want to marry a guy with six kids?’” says Skip. 

Well, he found that woman. Tod and Linda married in 1987 and over the next several years, they built a home for their family of 11 in Carnation, Washington—about 25 miles northeast of Seattle.

“All the kids worked on small construction tasks in their spare time,” reminisces Skip.

Building community and building homes is something Skip and Linda have excelled in. 

Skip started Sno-Valley Construction in 1973. Since then, he reckons they’ve built nearly 90 percent of the multi-family homes in Carnation. They also built Tolt Town Center, the main shopping center in town, Carnation Storage Center and three laundromats —Carnation, Monroe and Snohomish. 

Construction isn’t the only way Skip and Linda have shown support for their community. Skip served on Carnation’s first Planning Commission and on the King County Library Board from 1970 to 1982. Linda sings with Los Orchids, a 1950s and 60s Rock n’ Roll band and is a music director for St. Anthony’s. They were also named Grand Marshals of the 2016 Carnation 4th of July Parade. 

“Part of our gig is to be involved in the community,” says Skip. As a Jesuit-endorsed Catholic school, we hope all of our graduates make community involvement part of their gig. 

Skip and Linda have lived in the Carnation area for more than 40 years now. They have watched 17 grand children and two great-grandchildren grow up there and do not have plans to leave the area. 

Linda hails from the south. Skip, of course, grew up in Fairbanks and attended the Catholic Schools. 

“I should have graduated from Monroe in 1962,” says Skip, “but I ended up transferring to Copper Valley High School and then joining the Navy.” 

Skip and Linda return to Fairbanks to visit Skip’s family and meet up with old friends like Pat Doogan ‘62.

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​Tod “Skip” Johnson and Pat Doogan are pictured as freshman in the 1959 Monroe High School yearbook.

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