Background
Johnson was born in Summit, New Jersey and studied piano under instructor Capitola Dickerson.
administrator educator secretary volunteer
Johnson was born in Summit, New Jersey and studied piano under instructor Capitola Dickerson.
During 47 years, he never missed one day of work. In 2004, the middle school was named "Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School" in his honor. Right after graduation from Summit High School, he began working at what was then called Summit Junior high school, rising to office manager, and continued working until retiring in August 2007.
While a student, he was part-time office assistant from 1954 through 1956.
After graduation, he became school secretary in 1956. In 1962 he became Office Manager.
During his 52+ year career he worked for six school superintendents: Roberts Reed, Roland Wolcott (interim), William Purcell, Robert Salisbury, Richard Fiander, and Michael Knowlton, and six Summit Middle School principals: Robert Woodward, Charles Kemper, Donald DeBanico, Joseph Czarnecki, Gerard Murphy, and Theodore Stanik. He did extensive volunteer work for numerous school-related committees, events planning groups, Young Men’s Christian Association boards, communications groups, civic groups, newspaper editing, and other charitable activities.
He was elected Young Manitoba of the Year in 1961 by Summit Area Junior Chamber of Commerce and he was named in the 1965 edition of Outstanding Young Men in America.
Johnson was known for his "positive attitude" and "friendly demeanor" and "willingness to go the extra mile to help someone in need of assistance" according to Summit Middle School principal Matt Block in 2009. "Number favor was too great, and no task was too small. He embodied dedication and hard work by being the first one to arrive to school each morning and the last one to go home each evening, sometimes working through the weekend, if necessary, in order to get the job done.
In October 2007, Summit Mayor Jordan Glatt proclaimed October
2, 2007, as Lawton C. Johnson Appreciation Day in recognition of his years of outstanding service to the city, the middle school and to the church. In 2004, the Summit Board of Education decided to rename the middle school in Johnson"s honor.
Former Summit middle school principal Ted Stanik said one of Johnson"s great joys after the school"s renaming was answering the phone, "Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School. This is Lawton C. Johnson," Stanik said, "lieutenant brought a smile to his face every time he did lieutenant" Most of Summit"s schools are named after founding fathers.
The middle school"s renaming was a first for the city—an honor never before given an employee.
Johnson was described as a "gifted, remarkable, compassionate and uniquely talented person," according to Reverend Denison Doctorate. Harrield, Junior., who first approached the Summit Board of Education with the idea of renaming the middle school after Johnson. "He touched the lives of so many people." He died on September 14, 2009, after a long struggle with cancer.