[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4020-4021]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        EULOGY FOR LORAL JOHNSON

 Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Madam President, while I was home in 
Nebraska, a great Nebraska citizen passed away. Loral Johnson was a 
newspaper publisher in southwestern Nebraska and a pillar of his 
community.
  He began working in the newspaper business at age 9 as a ``printer's 
devil.'' He started at the Imperial Republican newspaper as a linotype 
operator following graduation from high school in 1952. He purchased 
the paper with his wife, Elna, in 1968.
  Loral Johnson was well respected and known by his colleagues as an 
innovative newspaperman. Johnson's editorial pages were often positive 
and progressive, calling on community members to move forward and 
always striving to make Imperial a better place for current and future 
generations. He was inducted into the Nebraska Journalism Hall of Fame 
and was named a master-editor publisher, the highest award of the 
Nebraska Press Association. Johnson's Imperial Republican was also 
among the first weekly papers to print on an offset press and to use 
computers.
  However, Loral Johnson will be remembered as far more than just a 
newspaper publisher. He was also a key leader in his community and his 
church. He was a member of the school board for 28 years, a co-founder 
and board member of the local nursing home for 33 years, and secretary 
for the Imperial Planning Commission for 21 years. His important 
contributions to education and health care will be remembered for many 
years to come.
  While we will miss Loral Johnson greatly, it is comforting to know 
that his two daughters and a son-in-law are continuing the tradition of 
excellent journalism in Imperial. His family and the devotion to 
community that he has passed on to them and so many others are his 
greatest legacy.

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