William P. Johnson Jr., who served with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in France before transitioning to a civilian engineer with the Corps, has died. A former president of ASCE’s Dallas Branch and a member of ASCE’s History and Heritage Committee, he was 90.
Johnson, P.E., F.ASCE, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his family owned and operated Ike's Chili Parlor. At Rice University in Houston, Johnson joined the ROTC and earned two bachelor’s degrees, a B.A. in 1957 and a B.S. in civil engineering in 1958. He went on to earn a master’s degree in structural engineering from Oklahoma State University.
In 1966, Johnson moved to Dallas, where he continued work for the Corps at its Southwest Division office. He spent a year in Virginia receiving advance training. While with the Corps, he was honored in 1997 as the national Program Manager of the Year and in 1992 with the Southwest Division Engineering Excellence Award. Upon retiring from the Corps in 1998, he was inducted into the Southwest Division Gallery of Distinction.
Johnson was a leader of the Dallas Branch and Texas Section, including serving as 1982-83 branch president. He was also active in the Society for American Military Engineers Dallas Post and the Dallas Founders Lions Club. An interest in genealogy saw him join the Sons of the American Revolution. The Texas Section honored him with its History and Heritage Award in 1989, the Outstanding Achievement Award for 1993, and its Professional Service Award in 1994.
While still in Tulsa, he met Elaine Kaveler Hockett. They were married in 1966 and raised two sons. He took pride that both followed him in becoming Eagle Scouts, while he himself served many years as scoutmaster of Troop 579. The family joined Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in 1966, where Johnson participated as an elder, teacher, and committee member (property and finance) for many years. Johnson and his wife were intrepid travelers who visited all seven continents at least once.
