Paul Johnson III

Paul Johnson

Oxford

Paul Hayne Johnson, III, 67, passed away on Friday, February 3, 2012, of natural causes at his home in Oxford, Mississippi. A private graveside service will be held on Thursday, February 9, in Dallas, TX, with The Reverend Amy Heller officiating. Visitation will follow at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home in Dallas from 3 to 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, February 11, 2012, a memorial service will be celebrated at 2 p.m. in Oxford, Mississippi at First Presbyterian Church, where he was a member. The Reverends John M. Semmes and Ann Kelly will officiate. Waller Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.

Mr. Johnson was born on June 17, 1944, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He grew up in Monroe, LA and Jackson, MS, graduating from Murrah High School in 1962. He received his BBA from the University of Mississippi in 1966 with a major in accounting and his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1969.

Mr. Johnson is preceded in death by his parents, Paul Hayne Johnson, Jr., and Margaret Littleton Johnson, and in 1999 by his beloved son, Brent Paul Johnson. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Gwen Mills Johnson; by his daughter Dr. Blair Johnson Wylie and husband Dr. John V. Wylie, Jr., and grandchildren, Sadie Hawthorne Wylie and Hugh Brent Wylie of Belmont, MA; sister-in-law Copper Mills Alvarez and husband Frank J. Alvarez of Baton Rouge, LA; nieces Catherine Alvarez Pardo of Landenburg, PA and Caroline Alvarez Smith of Mobile, AL; and nephew, Mark Hampton Alvarez of Baton Rouge, LA. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and uncle. He was an avid reader who loved baseball, golf, travel, mentoring young people and telling stories.

Mr. Johnson had a distinguished career as a Certified Public Accountant and as an Attorney and was registered to practice both professions in Texas and Mississippi. For many years, he was an international tax partner with KPMG Peat Marwick accounting firm, serving in Dallas, TX, Houston, TX and Jacksonville, FL. He was later a tax partner with Kelly, Hart and Hallman Law Firm in Fort Worth, TX, and Of Counsel with Phelps Dunbar Law Firm in Jackson, MS. He served as a consultant in the creation of state-owned golf courses supervised by the MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

Under Governor Haley Barbour, he served as the Mississippi Development Authority's Toyota Project Director and was responsible for all major aspects of the construction of Toyota's Blue Springs, MS manufacturing facility. He worked tirelessly on the establishment of the Center for Manufacturing Excellence at Ole Miss and exhibited a true passion for providing outstanding students with greater opportunities through its innovative educational programs. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The University of Mississippi Foundation, P.O. Box 249, University, MS 38677, to benefit a scholarship to be established in his name at The Center for Manufacturing Excellence.