Joel Johnson

1944 - 2021

Joel Ted Johnson was born Dec. 7, 1944, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Theodore Irvin Johnson and Fern Adell Johnson on the couple's third anniversary. Though an only child, he was raised surrounded by family, his paternal grandfather having helped settle Idaho Falls when it was still known as Eagle Rock.

Joel grew up at a time when children were routinely dismissed from school to help with the potato harvest. He, however, took school seriously, was smart and motivated, and became a skilled debater. Following graduation from Idaho Falls High School, he made his way to Stanford University. During summers, he earned money for college by working at the Idaho National Laboratory - a nuclear-reactor research facility 40 miles to the west in the desert - but during the year he studied creative writing with Wallace Stegner where the likes of Ken Kesey would crash his classes. Following graduation in 1967, he attended Harvard Law School, receiving his law degree in 1971.

Joel returned to California and practiced law at Ware & Freidenrich in Palo Alto but researching briefs and arguing detailed points proved less satisfying than originally anticipated. He felt drawn to academia and the allure of open-ended research, thus returned to Harvard University in 1978 to begin a study of social psychology. It was there he met and married Lorrie Irish. Theirs was a union that lasted 40 years, maintained with wit, humor, insight and kindness, and that produced two children: Geoff and Jessica.

Joel was awarded a Ph.D. in social psychology in 1981. Two hours after official copies of his Ph.D. thesis were submitted, Joel and Lorrie began their trek west to Davis, where he'd been hired to teach for the University of California. For 31 years, he conducted research into social cognition, focusing on behaviors regarded as diagnostic of the authentic self, inferential differences between self and others, perceived causality, and causal reasoning in a legal context. He fostered a love of social psychology in both undergraduate and graduate students and mentored future Ph.D.s who would later speak of both his insight and his kindness.

He fit neatly into Davis bicycle culture, riding his bike to work on a near-daily basis, and walking his beloved dogs along the town's many winding pathways. He counted among his hobbies a love of beer, Trivial Pursuit, politics, science fiction and literature, the latter inherited by his two children.

Though his struggles with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis inhibited his physical activity in his later years, his keen understanding of state and national politics continued unabated and family members were impressed by his observations up until nearly the hour of his passing.

Joel is survived by his wife, Lorrie, son Geoff and partner Sierra, and daughter Jessica and husband Chanse. He is also survived by several cousins - including Marcine Silver who was like a sister to Joel growing up, several nieces and nephews, and the many close friends he retained from both grade school and high school in Idaho Falls - whose bonds and support graciously continued throughout his lifetime.

The family wishes to thank the kind-hearted staff at Stollwood Convalescent Hospital in Woodland, which cared for Joel prior to its pandemic-related closure in 2020, and would like to acknowledge the exceptional care he received at Chaparral House in Berkeley during his last months. Joel was interred with private services at the Davis Cemetery. No further services are planned at this time.

Donations in memory of Joel can be made to support the Psychology Graduate Fellowship Fund at UC Davis, which provides financial support for graduate students pursuing a degree in psychology. Make checks payable to UC Davis and on the memo line include: RE Psychology Graduate Fellowship Fund. Mail to UC Davis Advancement Services, 202 Cousteau Place, Suite 185, Davis, CA 95618. To donate online, go to https://give.ucdavis.edu/Go/JoelJohnson.