Wallace Johnson

Wallace Robert Johnson, Sr. was born on June 7, 1925 in Baltimore, to Joseph Johnson and Elizabeth Colbert Johnson He passed from this life to a new life with Christ on July 31, 2006. He was educated in the Baltimore City Public School System. He graduated from Frederick Douglass High School. Upon graduation, he served his country through his military service with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill to become the first of his family to earn a college degree, graduating from Morgan State College and sometime later completing his Master’s degree at Fisk University. As a child, he demonstrated a strong interest in science and figuring out how things worked. He often talked about how he and his friends used to make all of their own toys. “Go carts” were a particular point of pride and accomplishment. The skills he developed served him well as he matured and became the source of his career as an adult. He pursued a degree in science and became a teacher of science and mathematics, head of the science department at Baltimore City College, an administrator with the Baltimore City Public School System, but ultimately, he returned to his first love, the molding of young men and women in the classroom. He retired from his career as a classroom teacher after 35 years. He touched the lives of many people at the grass roots level by sharing his time and wisdom. He married Norma Swope in 1947. They were blessed with two children from this union, Noreen Elizabeth and Wallace Robert, Jr. He was a devoted family man, and his children treasure precious memories of time shared with Dad on long road trips, home improvement projects and explorations of the world around us. Boating captured his heart with his first small boat. He quickly traded up to larger and larger vessels and earned a license from the Coast Guard qualifying him to pilot boats for hire. He spent many happy hours sailing the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic coastal waters A train enthusiast, he built an elaborate train layout and studied “real” trains, becoming familiar with many models and their routes throughout the world. Old movies were a constant source of entertainment, especially the old Westerns (“I will fight no more forever.”). He accumulated an extensive, meticulously indexed, collection of video tapes and DVDs that he loved to share. Friends and family often received copies of his favorites as gifts. He enjoyed jazz music. Not only did he collect hundreds of records, but he also attended jazz festivals whenever he could. A strong sense of curiosity led him to travel extensively. Although he was not able to tour the entire world, he visited many countries and most of the continental United States. As his health began to decline, he shifted his attention to computers, acquiring his first PC in his seventies. Computer games kept him entertained and occupied for hundreds of hours while email was a great way for him to share his sense of humor. He collected and distributed jokes among his family and extensive network of friends. The greatest blessing came late in life as he was introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ by the late Reverend K. Aaron Lee of the New Imani Community Church. He was grateful for the continued relationship he shared with the clergy and members of New Imani. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Norma Johnson; his daughter, Noreen Warren; his son, Wallace Johnson, Jr.; three grandchildren, Mary “Libbie” Christy, David Grandberry, IV, and Ava-Maria Johnson; and three great grandchildren, Ethan Christy, Ambriehl Christy and Nicoletta Grandberry; and a host of family and friends.

Tributes

Wallace Johnson

June 7, 1925 - July 31, 2006