R. H. Johnson

R. H. Johnson passed away July 22 at the age of 92 at his home in Wickenburg with wife Marjorie at his side. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 30 at the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts (1090 S. Vulture Mine Road) in Wickenburg. Robert Howard Johnson, an Arizona native, was born February 26, 1916 at the family home located at 1904 E. Tempe Road (now Van Buren Road) to his mother Bessie Hornbeck Johnson and father Alfred Johnson. His father was employed by Phoenix Trunk Factory on West Washington where he manufactured trunks that were strapped on the rear of automobiles of the period. His mother worked at the Boston Store in Tempe. Johnson attended Monroe and Longfellow schools and graduated from Phoenix Union High School in 1933. He couldn't afford college, but he put himself through business school, the Great Western Business College in the Heard Building, and he swept the floors each night for tuition. He learned short hand and mastered typing at 120 words per minute. While attending business school, Johnson worked for the Association of General Contractors in a secretarial job, commuting to work on foot each morning at 5 a.m. In 1935, Del Webb came by the AGC offices looking for a timekeeper for his six-man office. At the age of 19 Johnson got the nod and began his career with the Del E. Webb Construction Co. at $75 per month on a dormitory construction project at Northern Arizona University. Johnson believed in hard work and Webb was quickly aware of R.H.'s attention to detail and work ethic. Webb became his friend and mentor. By 1967 Webb had selected Johnson to be the President of the company. Then the Webb firm had grown to be active in 34 states from Hawaii to New York. The corporation's lifelines were leisure, real estate and construction, including properties like La Posada, Mountain Shadows, the Sahara Hotel in Nevada, veteran's hospitals across the United States and the Sun City development. Prior to Webb's death in 1974 he named Johnson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Del Webb Corporation at the age of 56.
After a long successful career with the Webb Corporation, in 1981 Johnson retired from the corporate world and immediately took on the role as President of the Del E. Webb Foundation, a non-profit private foundation organized to promote charitable work, with emphasis, but not limited to the field of health and medical research. The Foundation was a result of Webb's personal generosity. Johnson championed sizable grants with naming opportunities honoring Webb and benefiting residents of Arizona, California and Nevada. Respectful of the work done by the Foundation in the health care field and other areas, Johnson was personally proud with the Foundations' support of the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University and the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts in Wickenburg. R.H. retired from the Foundation in November of 2007.
Over his lifetime Johnson received many awards and accolades but was most humbled by the two Honorary Doctorate Degrees bestowed upon him by Arizona State University in Tempe and Loma Linda University and Medical Center in California. Because he was so involved in the development, health care and economic vitality of the West Valley, he was also moved when honored by WESTMARC/SRP with a Best of the West Leadership Award and when named Man of the Year with the Henry Award from the Town of Wickenburg. R.H. Johnson enjoyed golf (12 handicap) and played for 26 years in the Bob Hope Desert Classic. In 1973 Johnson won the Classic with partner Arnold Palmer. He was an outstanding gardener and spent every spare moment working outside; everything he planted - grew.
Mr. Johnson was a quiet generous man and he leaves behind his own legacy; The R. H. Johnson Foundation, a non-profit organization formed to support specific projects in the Wickenburg area; the place he came to call home. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Lawrence, first wife Ellamae "Mazie" Douglas and daughter Susan Hauck. He is survived by wife Marjorie and son Lawrence. In lieu of flowers; the family requests that donation be made to Hospice of the Valley, the Wickenburg Community Hospital or the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts. Arrangements entrusted to David's Desert Chapel 928-684-0710.