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2007 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 802
Celebrating the life of Augustus C. Johnson.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 26, 2007
Agreed to by the Senate, February 1, 2007

 

WHEREAS, Augustus C. Johnson of Arlington, a respected scientist, public servant, and longtime resident of Syria, Virginia, died on December 14, 2006; and

WHEREAS, Augustus "Gus" Johnson was born in Covington, Kentucky, in 1914 and moved to Northern Virginia to look for work when his family's farm was lost during the Great Depression; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson took a job as a printer apprentice at the Government Printing Office, and over the next 10 years, he worked for the federal government during the day, and attended George Washington University at night; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson enlisted in the 260th Coast Artillery, District of Columbia National Guard in 1931, commanded an artillery battery, and was given a medical discharge as a captain in 1941; he worked for a time in a manufacturing plant, a shipyard, and as a civilian employee of the United States Army Corps of Engineers in the Alaskan war zone during World War II; and

WHEREAS, after the war, Gus Johnson returned to Washington, D.C., and taught mathematics for two years at George Washington University (GWU) and earned a master's degree; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson decided to travel to Istanbul to teach physics for three years, and there he met his beloved wife, the late Constantia "Connie" Hommann, and the couple married and had a beautiful daughter, Muriel; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson returned to the United States with his family and resumed teaching mathematics, physics, and management at GWU for another four years; and

WHEREAS, a gifted scientist, Gus Johnson worked for 10 years as research director and senior scientist at Booz-Allen Applied Research, as well as 10 years as the solar energy group leader at MITRE Corporation, where he helped organize the EPA, directed programs in HUD, developed a federal comprehensive program for solar energy, and was instrumental in the writing of Virginia’s environmental impact procedures; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson held over 20 different jobs during his remarkably productive years of full-time employment, including working three years as chief statistician at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, before finally retiring in 1980; and

WHEREAS, in 1952 Gus Johnson became active in politics and the Democratic Party in Fairfax, where he was invaluable in organizing an impressive model grassroots volunteer organization for the 1964 presidential campaign of Lyndon B. Johnson, the last Democratic presidential candidate to win in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson served as chair of the effective and highly organized Northern Virginia delegation to the 1964 Virginia State Democratic Convention, which marked the end of the dominance of the Byrd Machine; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson ran as the Democratic candidate for the 10th Congressional District in 1962 and again in a tight race two years later and used “Vote Johnson and Johnson” as his campaign slogan in 1964, the same year Lyndon Johnson ran for president; he received about 78,000 votes to the incumbent's  80,000; and

WHEREAS, from 1966 to 1972, Gus Johnson served as the chair of the 10th Congressional District and the Democratic Party of Virginia Steering and Central Committees; he was a member, and its chair for several terms, of the Madison County Democratic Committee from 1981 until 2005; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson was an active member of the Housing Opportunities Council, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Library of Virginia Board, the Madison County Library Board, and various support organizations of the United Nations; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson selflessly served the people of Virginia and was often consulted on political and public issues because of his keen intellect, wisdom, and vast experience; and

WHEREAS, Gus Johnson will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his loving daughter and his numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly mourn the passing of a brilliant scientist, dedicated public servant, and outstanding Virginian, Augustus C. Johnson; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Augustus C. Johnson as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.