Obituary of Warne P. Johnson

Warne Perrault Johnson, 95, died February 5, 2017 at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery in East Norriton PA. Mr. Johnson was born to John W. and Hilda Titus Johnson in East Orange NJ. Warne graduated as valedictorian of his class from East Orange High School in 1938 and received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from M.I.T. in 1942. Mr. Johnson worked for National Research in Cambridge MA before enlisting in the Army Air Force in October 1942. He attended OCS in Aberdeen MD, received his commission as an ordnance officer and was assigned to a newly formed B29 service unit whose destination was Kunming China. By the time Mr. Johnson's unit crossed the Atlantic, the China mission was scrapped due to the Allies' successes in the Pacific and he was assigned to a heavy bomb unit of the 10th Air Force in West Bengal India. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Mr. Johnson's unit's job was to destroy all of the bombs left in India. He was discharged in March 1946 after completing the mission. After his service, Mr. Johnson returned to M.I.T. for his master's degree and attended Practice School whose faculty worked alongside the master's candidates. Mr. Johnson worked at Bethlehem Steel, PA and Hercules, NJ before receiving his M.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1947. Upon graduation he worked for Air Reduction Co. and Curtis Wright on the Goddard Rocket Project. Mr. Johnson then went to work for his family's business Petit Paint, a marine paint manufacturer, in Belleville NJ, where he started as the Plant Manager and became President upon his father's retirement. After selling the business in 1963 Mr. Johnson worked for Allied Chemical as a New Business Development Manager and for American Cyanamid Company as a Director of Business Development and Planning. He retired from American Cyanamid in 1991. He was a lifelong member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Chemical Society, and American Water Works Association. Mr. Johnson obtained a B.S. in accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University and became a licensed Certified Public Accountant in 1976. Mr. Johnson had many athletic and intellectual pursuits. He played squash or tennis daily, was an avid downhill and cross country skier, and hiked throughout the U.S., Europe and India. Mr. Johnson studied German at Montclair State University so that he could study his family's genealogy from primary documents. He traced his family roots through four passengers on the Mayflower back to ancestors who appeared on opposing sides at the sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede. He enjoyed researching his many interests and in his later years would give monthly lectures to his fellow residents of the Hill at Whitemarsh in Lafayette Hill PA about topics ranging from the Hurricane of 1938 to Artificial Intelligence to Mountaineering Rescues. He started piano lessons in 2009. The New York Times crossword puzzle was a daily pastime. Mr. Johnson was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, The Society of Mayflower Descendants, Descendants of Founders of New Jersey and Order of the Crown of Charlemagne. Mr. Johnson was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years Georgia Turner Johnson and is survived by his son Michael Warne Johnson (Kay) of Hamilton, MT and his daughter Anne Anspach (Philip) of Erdenheim PA along with 5 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania. A Memorial Service will be held at St.Thomas Whitemarsh Church in Fort Washington PA at 3:00 on Saturday April 29. Burial will be private.