Over the years, Weber’s Inn guests and employees came to think of chef Curtis Johnson Sr. as family.

“He was more than just a cook,” said Cathy Dillman, bartender and server, who worked with him at Weber's Inn for about 11 years. “I cannot tell you how many hearts he’s touched.”

Dillman said the longtime chef knew customers by name, knew what they liked, and took pride in his craft.

Johnson, who dedicated decades of his working life to his passion for cooking, died Monday at the age of 75.

“There were just tears everywhere” when employees at Weber’s Inn received the news, Dillman said.

Curtis Johnson Sr.

Courtesy of the Johnson family

Johnson worked as a chef in Ann Arbor for nearly 60 years and passed along his affinity for cooking to his three children, Kim Johnson, Curtis Johnson Jr. and Kip Johnson, all of Ypsilanti.

“All of us love to cook,” said Kip Johnson.

Kip Johnson said his father was always an involved, supportive parent. He recalled playing football as an Ypsilanti High School student and how his father would always attend the games, regardless of the weather.

“He was always there with an umbrella,” Kip Johnson said, with a laugh. “He was wonderful."

He said his father, known for his peach cobbler and soups, often cooked meals for the team and for neighbors over the years.

Kip Johnson’s wife, Athena Johnson, said her father-in-law worked as a chef at Weber’s Inn for 47 years, leaving for health reasons in December. Prior to that, he worked as first cook at the Michigan Union, where he met the woman he would later marry, Doris Albriton.

He and Albriton were married Sept. 19, 1957, at Ann Arbor’s Bethel A.M.E. Church.

His daughter Kim said he even had the opportunity to cook for a few famous people over the course of his career, including John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and former University of Michigan football coach Glenn E. "Bo" Schembechler.

Born July 17, 1936, in Cataula, Ga., Johnson spent most of his life, from the time he was about 5 years old, in Ypsilanti. He died the night before he was scheduled to have a morning surgery for a health condition.

“Even though he was up there in age, if elderly people were up there (at the Weber’s Inn buffet) he would carry their plates for them,” Dillman said.

And his hard work was appreciated.

“At Christmas, he had so many gifts he needed help carrying them out to the car,” Dillman recalled.

Dillman said customers have asked about Johnson nearly every day since he left work. She said though all the chefs at Weber’s Inn are talented, he had a way of cooking that was uniquely his own — "old-fashioned" style, lots of butter and full of flavor.

When Johnson was in the kitchen, “everything was always perfect. There wasn’t a day that was mediocre,” she said.

Tye Elder, executive chef at Weber's Inn, said, "Ken Weber put it best: It's a hard act to follow."

Johnson "just did that home-style cooking. Nothing fancy, just great taste," Elder said, naming Johnson's chili, meatloaf, ribs and turkey as a few of his best dishes.

His recipes "were all his own and nobody knew them but him," Elder added. "I'm just trying to follow his act of making his food the way he made it."

Johnson is survived by his three children, 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife.

Crystal Fountain Chapel Funeral Home will be handling the arrangements. The public is invited to attend a viewing from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday, followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m. at St. James Church of God in Christ, 585 First Ave., Ypsilanti.

Heather Lockwood is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heatherlockwood@annarbor.com or follow her on Twitter.