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Rev. Dr.
Roger William Johnson |
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“How Blest I Was” |
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Roger graduated from East Rockford High School in 1947, where he was an outstanding leader in academics, athletics, music and school government activities. He was captain of the basketball team; Illinois State Championship tennis player; president of the National Honors Society; president of the A Cappella Choir; and class Valedictorian. Roger had scholarships throughout his entire higher education, which included North Park University, Chicago IL; Augustana College, Rock Island, IL; and Harvard University (Ph.D.). At North Park he was editor of the yearbook, co-captain of the basketball team and elected to the North Park Vikings Hall of Fame. At Augustana College, Roger was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, was captain of the basketball team and voted Most Valuable Player. He was president of the renowned Augustana Choir under Henry Veld, which performed in Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall, Constitution Hall, Kleinman Hall, among others. He graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. Roger received his ministerial training at North Park Theological Seminary. Later he transferred ordination credentials to The United Church of Christ. While a seminary student he wrote and edited an extensive three year curriculum for post-high school young people for the Evangelical Covenant Church of America. Roger married Charlotte Julin Johnson in 1953, also of Rockford, Illinois. They attended the same Sunday school, church, high school and colleges, and both were proud of their Swedish ancestry. While serving the Brighton Congregational Church in Boston, Roger earned a Ph.D. at Harvard University where he was privileged to study with theologians Paul Tillich and Richard R. Niebuhr, among others. During this time he also had a family of five children, the youngest of whom were twin boys. Roger’s parish ministry included churches in the New England/New York area and Minnesota: Glendale Congregational (Covenant) Church, Everett, MA (1955-57); Brighton Evangelical Congregational Church, Boston, MA (1957-64); Edina-Morningside Congregational Church, Edina, MN (1964-68); Scarsdale Congregational Church (1970-1982); The Community Church of Little Neck, NY (1985-87). He also served interim positions at First Congregational Church, Poughkeepsie, NY; Broadway United Church of Christ, Manhattan; and West Center Church, Bronxville, NY. In addition to being pastor in Minnesota, Roger was adjunct professor at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Later he served as chaplain and professor of philosophy and religion at Rockford College (1968-70), and was also instructor at the Catholic Post-Conciliar Center in Rockford. Roger’s life was devoted to serving humanity. He had a profound spirituality expressed in his deeply caring and involved ministry to his parishioners. He was a leader and dedicated activist in religion, social welfare and education. He received the Ethics in Action Award by the Westchester Ethical Humanist Society, and the Citation for Community Leadership from the Westchester County Board of Legislators. His work with the disenfranchised included volunteering at the Bronx House of Detention, and serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Healing Community for Handicapped and Alienated. He was a committed member of the Scarsdale Appeal for Peace Steering Committee, a board member of the Day Care Council of Westchester, and involved with the Scarsdale Fair Housing Committee. His concern for public education led him to be President of the Advisory Committee for the Scarsdale Teachers Institute. Roger held positions with the United Church of Christ as President of the Board of Directors of the New York Metropolitan Association, and Executive Council Chairman of Conference Personnel Committee of the New York State Conference. Throughout his career, he chaired clergy associations in Boston, Edina, and Scarsdale. Roger was chosen to participate in the British-American Bicentennial Preacher Exchange in 1976, where he preached in various parishes in Scotland, the homeland of the subject of his doctoral dissertation, John Baillie. Roger had a respectful, ecumenical attitude to people of all ethnicities, faiths and economic levels. During his active ministry he was often called upon to conduct interfaith marriages. He loved multicultural areas including the apartment building in Yonkers where he resided with his wife since 1990 in a diverse community. In his retirement years, one of the things Roger cherished most with his wife was to begin each morning with a devotional sharing called the Three R’s: Reading, Reflecting, and Remembering, followed by a hymn which Roger sang while Charlotte accompanied him on the piano. Then a hug and a kiss before beginning their individual activities for the day. Roger often summarized his life by saying, “How blest I was.” Roger will be missed as devoted husband, loving father, proud grandfather, and cherished friend. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Charlotte Julin Johnson, children and their spouses: Scott Johnson of Mamaroneck, NY; Cynthia E. Johnson-Boka and Jim Boka of Washington, D.C.; Sally and Tom Conrad of Katonah, NY; Daniel and Caroline Johnson of Shelburne Falls, MA; Brian and Nancy Johnson of Southampton, NY; and grandchildren Noel and Julia Conrad, Jonathan Boka, Elliot and Liam Johnson, and Lana Johnson. He is also survived by his sister Priscilla Johnson Hopp of Evanston, Illinois, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws. A celebration of his life will be held at the Scarsdale Congregational Church on March 25 at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to a favorite charity. |
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Please sign our
GUESTBOOK
and leave messages or memories there. |
