William Herman Johnson

A son of the late Herman Edwin and Gertrude Hill Johnson, he was born on Aug. 17, 1929 in Hickory, NC. He worked at Hill Motor Company in Denton, NC, from 1944 until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1946 and served in the Construction Batallion. He was a 1952 graduate of North Carolina State University with a degree in Industrial Engineering and took graduate classes at Madison College, now James Madison University in Harrisonburg. Bill worked on the Nike Missile System for Douglas Aircraft, and participated in the design of the 1957 Chevrolet at General Motors.

While living in Harrisonburg since 1962, he was Supervisor of Engineering at Walker Manufacturing until 1969 when he moved to North Carolina and was Plant Manager at Walker in Asheville until 1973 when he moved back to Harrisonburg. In 1995, he retired as Vice President of Engineering at Shenandoah Manufacturing. Throughout his career, he authored a number of patents. From 2003 until the present he assisted with office managerial duties and handled the financial services at Advantage Physical Therapy, his son’s business.

Mr. Johnson was a former member of the Otterbein United Methodist Church. Now a member of Vision of Hope United Methodist Church, he was a lay leader and completed studies of Bible Study Fellowship and sang in church choirs and Men’s Quartet. He was instrumental in the architectural design for the Vision of Hope Church.

Bill was also a chaplain for Industrial Chaplain Ministries, was an active member of the Gideons, and a former member of Harrisonburg Lions and Elks Clubs.

On June 7, 1964, he married the former Carolyn Fisher who survives. Also surviving are three sons, Dr. Neil F. Johnson and his wife, Ann-Marie of Vienna; Dr. William M. “Bill” Johnson and his wife, Tina of Harrisonburg; and James A. Johnson and his wife, Louise of Weyers Cave; a daughter, Carolyn J. Paradzinski and her husband, Patrick of Harrisonburg; a daughter by a previous marriage, Elizabeth J. Knell and her husband, Mike of Mt. Juliet, TN; thirteen grandchildren; and two sisters, Hilda Cranford and husband, Mack; and Jerrie Lomax and her husband, John, all of Denton, NC.

A Memorial Service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, May 15th, at the Vision of Hope United Methodist Church with the Rev. David Burch officiating. The family will greet family and friends at the church following the service. Interment will be private at Eastlawn Memorial Gardens.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Vision of Hope United Methodist Church, 1723 Port Republic Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22801.