Gloria Johnson called … sadly Jack died this morning. She noted he had been hospitalized the past several days for pneumonia.
Jack was a dear friend to many of us and a highly respected colleague by all that worked with him.
If memory serves he joined KSA in 1953 and retired 30+ years later in the mid 80’s. He was a key pillar of the firm, served as a KSA VP for many years and led many important initiatives.
Subsequently Jack and Gloria moved from Atlanta to settle into retirement in their beloved Auburn, Alabama.
Both were proud graduates of AU. Jack as I recall had been editor of the school newspaper in his college days.
This is a loss for everyone that was fortunate enough to know JAJ. Certainly for me, as he recruited me into KSA in 1965 and was a dear friend for the 50+ years since.
Jack was a man of intellect, integrity, keen wit, warm personality and an infectious spirit.
Gloria says that Jack had clearly specified he did not want a Memorial Service held and she plans to honor that wish.
His obituary will be in the Auburn newspaper within a couple of days.
She will receive visitors and cards/letters at the assisted living facility in which they lived in recent years.
Robyn and I had prior plans to visit with Jack and Gloria two weeks from tomorrow. We will go and spend time with Gloria reminiscing on wonderful memories of Jack.
Dave
David A. Cole
Here is a note from Jack’s son Andy.
Jack A. Johnson former Vice President of KSA died Sunday February 26th in Auburn, Alabama after a brief illness. He was 86 years old. Having rejoined KSA after military service, he supervised several assignments across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. Jack was preceded in death by one of his three sons, David Newman Johnson in 2010. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Gloria Johnson of Auburn, Alabama and two sons Jeff Johnson of Plano, Texas and Andy Johnson of Marietta, Georgia. Jack preferred not to have a memorial, but instead encourages anyone who wishes make a donation to The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Those close to Jack and Gloria may also send flowers to Gloria at Morningside of Auburn, 871 Twin Forks Ave. #112 Auburn, AL 36830. Gloria loves flowers and would love hearing from all KSA’ers that she has known throughout the years.
Thank You,
Andy Johnson
And a note from resident Historian John Champion:
Andy,
Thanks for the note letting us know. Jack and Gloria both were a delight to be around. I have been reviewing a lot of our old photo and story archives over the past two months and have thought a lot about Jack and all the others of his era who built the foundation for KSA to become a great company. Jack was recruited to the firm in 1953 and here is a picture from his retirement in 1984. The beaming Jack is how we will always recall him. [Click on the images to view a more readable copy.]
We also did a profile on Jack in June 1979.
