[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 19 (Thursday, February 28, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING BILL JOHNSON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BOB BARR

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 28, 2002

  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, We in the 7th District are deeply 
saddened by the loss of one of our greatest friends; a man who carried 
the torch not only for truth and justice as an excellent lawyer, but 
also stood as an outstanding community volunteer.
  Bill Johnson was born November 10, 1932 in Moreland, Georgia. He 
graduated from Moreland High School and received his B.A. from West 
Georgia College in 1951. After graduating Bill moved on to the 
University of Georgia, where he received his juris doctorate in 1954. 
After serving a three-year stint in the Army, Bill continued on to a 
distinguished law career, operating as the Carroll County government 
attorney between 1969 and 1984, and then in private practice, 
eventually opening his own firm--Johnson, Word, and Simons, which still 
remains in Carroll County.
  Bill was a member of numerous legal and financial organizations, 
including the Carroll County Bar, the Coweta Circuit Bar Association, 
the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and 
the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He also served as a board 
member for the Community Bank and the Peoples Bank of West Georgia. 
Bill also belonged to several philanthropic groups such as the Lions 
Club and the Jaycees. He was extremely active with the First Baptist 
Church, as well as the Masons and Shriners.
  On a personal note, Bill was my friend. He enjoyed sponsoring huge 
annual BBQ fundraisers, and was one of my biggest and most outspoken 
supporters. I will dearly miss the grace, and dignity, and humor he 
brought to the courtroom and the political arena, and the dedication he 
offered up to all.
  Bill left us to join his Creator in heaven on Monday, February 18, 
2002, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife, Ramona Teal 
Johnson, his daughter Angela Lee Johnson, and his son Alton Parker 
Johnson II, a Carroll County Magistrate Judge. We will all miss him and 
his legacy of dedicated service.

                          ____________________