William Basil Johnson

William was born August 9, 1927 in Meridien, Mississippi to Basil Lopez Johnson and Marie Beech Johnson.

William was a WWII Veteran and served in Occupied Japan and the Korean War where he was in the 7th Cavalry and 2nd Infantry and was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, the Korean Service Medal with 3 Bronze Stars, a Distinguished Unit Citation, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Before attending Auburn University where he earned a BS in Electrical Engineering, he attended Lanier H.S. where he played the trumpet in the band, and met his high school sweetheart, Ann, who later became his beloved wife of 40 years.

His work career began at Alcoa Aluminum in Pittsburgh, PA. He also worked for Hayes, NASA and Army Missile Command, and his illustrious career includes being the Lead Engineer on the Pershing I and Pershing II Missile Projects, and Chief of the Unconditional Beam Technology Office.

William loved John Wayne movies, Fox News, Mexican food, and coaching his son’s baseball teams through Junior High. He was a self-contained, technologically brilliant man, who was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, a good provider, and a Catholic.

He is survived by his eldest son, William B. Johnson, Jr. and daughter-in-law, Cheryl Johnson; his younger son, Richard Keith Johnson; his daughter, Julie Ann Minter; his grandchildren, William Basil Johnson, III, Christopher Alexander Johnson, Jenna Anne Minter; great-granddaughters Bailey June and Isabella Grace Johnson, and is preceded in death by his beloved wife Ann Keith Johnson and infant son, Joseph Christopher; and his parents, Basil Lopez Johnson, and Marie Beech Johnson.

A Military graveside service with military honors, will be held at Greenwood Cemetery, 909 Lincoln Road, Montgomery, AL 36109 on Friday, June 24, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.