Ellis Johnson

1938 - 2024

JOHNSON, Ellis L.

Ellis L. Johnson died at his beloved home outside Madison, Georgia, on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. He was born July 26, 1938, in Athens, Georgia, to Glenn Irvin and Edna Volberg Johnson, and grew up on a farm outside Athens. He attended University Demonstration School, and graduated from Georgia Tech with a B.A. in Mathematics in 1960. He then studied at the University of California at Berkeley, receiving a Ph.D. in Operations Research in 1965. Dr. Johnson began his professional career teaching at Yale University, then joined the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights. In 1993 he retired from IBM and moved to Atlanta, where he held the Coca-Cola Chair Professorship at Georgia Tech School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. He retired from Georgia Tech June 1, 2012, and devoted himself to his land near Madison, GA—100 acres of farmland bordering on the Apalachee River which he purchased in 1994 to fulfill his dream of organic gardening and a home for his family. The land is peaceful and beautiful, with miles of trails following a stream, through trees, and across open meadows. So that others could enjoy this splendor, he created the Farmhouse Inn at Hundred Acre Farm, a bed and breakfast originally managed by his niece, Melinda Hartney and her husband, Pat. Ellis went on to develop Apalachee Bluff Homeowners Association, now consisting of eight homes, creating careful guidelines to preserve the quality of life and the beauty of the land. He also set aside eighty-six acres of the property to the Georgia Land Trust to ensure continuation of the habitats, open space, and natural beauty of the land. He was active in the Madison-Morgan Conservancy, and when the 1915 church building of Sugar Creek Baptist was in danger of demolition in 2016, he and his wife bought the church from its congregation and moved it to their farm less than a mile away. They then renovated the church so that it resembles, as closely as possible, its original glory. Although the farm and Inn has new owners, the land remains the same and he particularly enjoyed the many birds who visited their feeders in the back yard.

Dr. Johnson is survived by his wife, Crystal Du; and his three siblings, Fred Johnson and wife, Jeanie of Madison, Allen Johnson of Augusta, SC, and Janet Tanksley and husband, Wallace of Madison; three children, Michael Glenn Johnson and his wife, Michelle of Nashville, Tennessee, Catherine Robison of Columbia, South Carolina, and Frederick Gan Johnson of Atlanta; four grandchildren, Jake Johnson, Grace Anne Johnson, Noah Robison, and Zoe Belle Robison; many nieces and nephews who have lots of stories to tell about their times with Uncle Ellis, as well as much-loved cousins. The family especially thanks Mattie Smith, Ruby Perkins, Lynkiesha Brown, and Sarah Ashley who tended Ellis will gentle care. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, March 23, 2024, at 10:00 AM in the Sugar Creek Chapel at Hundred Acre Farm, followed by a reception in the Red Barn.