William J. Johnson, Jr.

William James Johnson, Jr. was born to William James Johnson and Sadie Hassell Johnson on November 5, 1931 in Richmond Hill, NY where he resided through high school graduation. He attended Auburn University in Alabama and was in the ROTC program until he graduated. In 1954 he entered the Navy using his education and skills as a nuclear physicist and electronics engineer. He was eventually assigned to Los Alamos. After a few years he was reassigned and moved his family to Albuquerque. He returned to Los Alamos in the early 70s and retired as a commander from the Navy in 1977. He served on the National Board of the Retired Officers Association from 1983 1989 and remained active in local and state chapters since then. He worked for LATA for a few years until he decided to become a full-time retiree, during which time he enjoyed traveling to visit family in New York, Alabama, Idaho, Florida, the Northwest, and close to home in New Mexico. He and Regina also traveled, sometimes with longtime friends, to many interesting and far away places. He was an active member of Trinity-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church, the Elks, and American Legion. Bill is survived by his wife of 25 years, Regina, his sons-- M. Stanford (Stan) Johnson and Diana (Tuscaloosa, AL) and William James (Chip) Johnson III (Boise, ID), his daughter-- Rebecca Lynn (Becky) Johnson (Bernalillo, NM), two granddaughters-- Natalie Johnson (Atlanta, GA) and Christina and Nomi Ahmed, and a great grandson, Sameer (Tuscaloosa, AL), his brother-- Thomas Johnson, his step-children-- J. Gregory (Greg) and Jean DeField, Roberta DeField, three step-granddaughters, and two step-grandsons. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister-in-law, Dolores Johnson, and his step-son, J. Michael (Mike) DeField. The memorial service for Bill will be at 11 AM Monday, September 22, 2008 at Trinity-on-the-Hill* Episcopal Church in Los Alamos. Interment will follow at 2:30 PM at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. Memorial contributions may be made in Bills name to TOTH* Building Gift or to the charity of your choice. (TOTH building gift fund and catalog information are available from Jan at jnlanm@att.net or Lynn at finnegan@los-alamos.net or by calling the church office (662- 5107.)