Lawton C. Johnson
Encyclopedia
Lawton Corbin Johnson, Jr. (1937 - September 14, 2009) was a New Jersey
-based educator and administrator notable for his hard work, devotion to excellence and long term of service at the Summit Public Schools
. 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.
and studied piano under instructor Capitola Dickerson
. 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, YMCA
boards, communications groups, civic groups, newspaper editing, and other charitable activities. He was elected Young Man 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. "No 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. Amazingly, for 47 of his 52 years, Mr. Johnson did not miss one day of work." Johnson received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Keeper of the Dream Award and the Tri-City Branch NAACP Community Service Award. In October 2007, Summit
Mayor Jordan Glatt proclaimed Oct. 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, "It brought a smile to his face every time he did it." 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 D. Harrield, Jr., 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.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
-based educator and administrator notable for his hard work, devotion to excellence and long term of service at the Summit Public Schools
Summit Public Schools
The Summit Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from Summit, in Union County, New Jersey, United States....
. 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.
Career
Johnson was born in Summit, New JerseySummit, New Jersey
Summit is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 21,457. Summit had the 16th-highest per capita income in the state as of the 2000 Census....
and studied piano under instructor Capitola Dickerson
Capitola Dickerson
Capitola L. Dickerson is a piano instructor in Summit, New Jersey and graduate of the Juilliard School in Manhattan who is notable for teaching several generations of students and who has been honored by local authorities for her volunteer service. Some of her pupils have become renowned such as...
. 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, YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
boards, communications groups, civic groups, newspaper editing, and other charitable activities. He was elected Young Man 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
Summit Public Schools
The Summit Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from Summit, in Union County, New Jersey, United States....
principal Matt Block in 2009. "No 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. Amazingly, for 47 of his 52 years, Mr. Johnson did not miss one day of work." Johnson received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Keeper of the Dream Award and the Tri-City Branch NAACP Community Service Award. In October 2007, Summit
Summit, New Jersey
Summit is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 21,457. Summit had the 16th-highest per capita income in the state as of the 2000 Census....
Mayor Jordan Glatt proclaimed Oct. 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
Summit Public Schools
The Summit Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from Summit, in Union County, New Jersey, United States....
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, "It brought a smile to his face every time he did it." Most of Summit's
Summit, New Jersey
Summit is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 21,457. Summit had the 16th-highest per capita income in the state as of the 2000 Census....
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 D. Harrield, Jr., who first approached the Summit Board of Education
Summit Public Schools
The Summit Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from Summit, in Union County, New Jersey, United States....
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.