Education, inspiration marked Johnson’s life

A life dedicated to education and service came to an end when Lawrence Alexander Johnson passed away on Aug. 19. Though his journey spanned 87 years, a great many people would say that someone of his energy and talents left this world too soon.

Known to many as “Larry,” Johnson was born in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 1918. He grew up in Boston with his parents, William and Lucy Alexander Johnson, six siblings and his paternal grandmother, whose ambitions for little Larry were always sky high.

“You are a smart boy. You are going to be president one day,” she would often say.

Well, he didn’t become President of the United States, but he did ascend to several prominent positions in the world of higher education, becoming dean of the School of Business at Howard University, assistant dean of the School of Business at the University of Massachusetts and president of Roxbury Community College. He used these roles as opportunities to advocate for students and to support the development of their “critical thinking” and other career skills.

Many years of Johnson’s life were spent teaching marketing at UMass, Howard, Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, San Francisco State College and Arkansas A.M. & N. College, and he loved every second of it.

“My work is play,” he would say. He took pride in watching his students grow in their careers and experienced a great deal of joy when visiting and consulting with former students in their places of work at small businesses and at major corporations in many countries throughout the world.

A testament to Johnson’s love of his work, commitment to excellence and sharing of his resources was expressed by formal scripted testimonials in the presence of hundreds of people and in simple notes and verbal statements of appreciation from those he befriended, shared with or served. He was the recipient of numerous teaching, management and humanitarian awards, including those from Howard, Harvard, Boston University, UMass Amherst and the UMass Continuing College Education, Black Students (CCEBS) Program, which he founded to make education possible for a large number of minority students.

Born the grandson of an American slave and growing up in a household with a father who could neither read nor write, Johnson learned to appreciate the value of education and was grateful for his numerous educational opportunities. He received his B.S., B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Boston University and was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Stanford University’s Business School. To express his gratitude, Johnson set up a college scholarship fund at the Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury for students entering college in loving memory of his parents.

Johnson’s life journey was grounded in active teaching and learning, family devotion, humanitarianism and military service, including active duty in the United States Army, where he ultimately achieved the rank of captain. But he also took time to relax, read voraciously, and constantly discussed and thought about the universe, trying to gain an understanding of its workings and its Creator.

In his professional life, he always placed a priority on examining marketing and management theories with objectives to expand on his discoveries and to share his conclusions. His findings and awareness of student needs led to the publishing of book chapters, many professional journals and three books: “Employing the Hard Core Unemployed,” “Cases for Principles of Marketing” and “Basic Calculation for the Use of Analysis of Marketing Problems.”

Lawrence Alexander Johnson was grateful for all of his blessings. “Life is good” was his motto. “Have fun! Life is short. Learn to flow with the rhythms of the universe,” were his governing thoughts.

Johnson leaves behind his wife, Shirley Andrews Johnson; his son, Lawrence A. Johnson Jr. (Jeanne); two step-daughters, Jacqueline Romain and Jennifer Zachery (Steve); step-son, David McPherson; two granddaughters, Karen Bryson and Kyndal Zachery; two sisters-in-law, Odessa Johnson and Ireatha Johnson and a host of nieces, nephews, friends and former students.