Remembering Clyde John Bennett Johnson, Jr.
Clyde John Bennett Johnson, Jr. passed away
Monday,
August 23, 2004
.
He was born
October
31, 1917
in
Austin
,
Texas
,
where his parents Addie Mae Brown Johnson and Clyde John Bennett
Johnson, Sr. were temporarily residing. The family returned to their
home in
San
Antonio
a very short time after his birth and throughout his life,
San
Antonio
has been his permanent home.
Johnson attended the Alamo Heights Schools. While in high school, he
lettered three years in football as a halfback and three years in track.
In his senior year, he won the city and county 200-yard dash
championship and placed second in the city/county 100-yard dash.
After high school, Johnson attended
Westmoorland
College
in
San
Antonio
(now
Trinity
University
)
for one year and lettered in football as a halfback.
He attended The University of Texas in
Austin
,
where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) Degree
with a major in accounting in 1940.
At the University, he was a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity.
Johnson also attended St. Mary’s University in
San
Antonio
,
where he earned a Juris Doctor (law) Degree. At St. Mary’s he was a
member of the Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity. He had been
admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
Following his graduation from the
University
of
Texas
,
Johnson worked as an accountant for the Arthur Beynon & Co.,
Certified Public Accountants for about one and a half years and then
accepted a position as the Assistant to the Comptroller at Joske’s of
Texas
.
On October 16, 1941, Dorothy Naomi Musgrave, the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph Walker Musgrave, Sr. of San Antonio and Johnson were married
in the home of her Aunt and Uncle, Col. and Mrs. Thomas Cebern Musgrave,
at 400 Alameda Circle, San Antonio.
Clyde is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dorothy Musgrave Johnson; 3
sons, Clyde Johnson III and wife, Paula, Mark Johnson and wife, Carolyn,
Mike Johnson and wife, Tricia; grandchildren, Clyde J.B. Johnson IV and
wife, Kimberly, Rainey Johnson, Mark M. Johnson, Jr. and wife, Jennifer,
Parker C. Johnson and wife, Macey, Michael G. Johnson, Jr., W. Sherman
Johnson and wife, Sandy, Jennifer Johnson, A. Cole Cloud, Adrienne Cloud
and Christine Cloud; great grandchildren, Kinslee Johnson, Kendall
Johnson, Ashley Johnson and William Johnson.
On
January
12, 1942
,
Johnson was appointed a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and served the Bureau in
Washington
D.C.
,
Newark
,
New
Jersey
,
St.
Louis
,
Missouri
and the San Antonio Divisional Office. He also worked on special
assignments in the New York FBI office and served on the FBI Inspection
Staff.
Johnson worked on several of the Bureau’s major cases, including the
President John Kennedy assassination and the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Spy case. He retired from the FBI in September, 1968 and took a position
with the Groos National Bank as a Vice-President responsible for
marketing and customer service.
On
April
15, 1971
,
Johnson was elected President and Chief Executive Officer of Alamo
Savings Association. During his tenure as head of Alamo Savings, the
Association became the fastest growing savings and loan in the State of
Texas
.
Due to the rapid growth of the association, it became necessary to
relocate the corporate headquarters to a larger space.
Johnson was responsible for securing the necessary land which consisted
of the full 900 block on
Northeast
Loop
410 and thereafter the construction of the two twin nine story
buildings, one of which became Alamo Savings’ Corporate Headquarters.
The Association moved to the new building in 1975, and became the first
Savings and Loan to locate on
Loop
410 and the second financial institution located on this
Loop
.
When Mr. S.E. McCreless, the founder and Chairman of the Board of Alamo
Savings retired, Johnson was elected Chairman of the Board, and
continued to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer until he
retired on
December
3, 1981
.
In 1978-79, Johnson served as President of the Texas Savings and Loan
League – a statewide organization of all the S&L’s in
Texas
.
He also served several years as a Director of the United States League
of Savings Associations and was a member of the National Savings and
Loan League. In addition, he was an Advisory Director of the National
Association of State Savings and Loan Supervisors.
In 1945, the Johnsons purchased a home with sixteen acres on
San
Pedro Ave.
,
just north of what is now known as
Loop
410. When their three sons,
Clyde
,
III, Mark and Mike became of age, they became involved in 4H activities
and for a number of years, raised and showed
Hereford
steers and cattle at the
San
Antonio
,
Houston
and other stock shows and thereby developed a strong interest in
ranching.
In 1963, the Johnsons purchased a ranch on U.S. Highway 281 North and
FM
Road
1863 at
Bulverde
,
Texas
.
The family moved to the ranch in 1965 and lived there for 16 years.
The family continues to operate the ranch under the name Clyde Johnson
& Sons and since the purchase of the ranch, the family has raised
registered
Hereford
cattle and each year in October holds an annual production sale.
In 1984, the Johnsons purchased a herd sire known as L1 Domino 75901 and
according to the registration records of the American Hereford
Association, this bull appears in more pedigrees of
Hereford
bulls than all but 5 registered
Hereford
bulls and 3 of those are sons or grandsons of 75901. This great bull
added significantly to the quality and reputation of the Johnson’s
Hereford
cattle.
Due to the family’s interest in cattle and stock shows, and Johnsons’
close friendship with Mr. Joe Freeman, the Founder and Chairman of the
San Antonio Livestock Exposition and Mr. Gene Bickett, President of the
show, Johnson became a life member of the show and was elected a
Director in 1964. In 1970, he as elected to the show’s Executive
Committee and in 1972, he was elected Vice-President.
In 1974, the 25th Anniversary of the show, President Gene Bickett
suffered a heart attack several weeks before the show opened, and
therefore, Johnson as Vice President, had the responsibility for running
the 1974 show. In 1975, Johnson was elected President of the San Antonio
Livestock Show and Rodeo. Because of the time required, he declined to
serve as President after 1976.
Johnson was a member and Past Director of the Texas Hereford
Association, a member of the American Hereford Association; the
Texas
and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the National
Cattlemen’s Association.
In 1952, he was elected to membership in the Downtown Rotary Club and
served several terms on the Board of Directors and as Vice-President and
in 1970, he was elected President of the Club.
In 1984, the Downtown Rotary Club conferred on Johnson, a Paul Harris
Fellowship award for Outstanding Service to Rotary.
In 1974, Governor Dolph Briscoe appointed Johnson as one of the three
member of the Texas Water Quality Board.
In 1974, he served as the chairman for the National Conference of
Christians and Jews (NCCJ) Annual Award Banquet.
In 1976-77, he served as the Presiding Chairman of the NCCJ and was
awarded a Distinguished Merit Citation for his services.
In 1979, the NCCJ presented Johnson the Protestant Brotherhood Award.
Johnson served several years on the National Board of Trustees of the
National Conference of Christians and Jews.
In 1978, Johnson was General Chairman of the United Way Annual Campaign
which raised 102.3 percent of their goal and exceeded the prior year by
12 percent.
In 1984, Johnson was elected President of the
United
Way
and during his term presided at the dedication of the
United
Way
new headquarters building on
South
Alamo Street
.
He was honored with the United Way Service Award in 1985.
For many years, Johnson was very active in the Greater San Antonio
Chamber of Commerce, chaired many of their committees, served on the
Executive Committee and, in 1981, was elected Chairman of the Board of
the Chamber.
He served on the Advisory Board of the
School
of
Business
Administration
,
at St. Mary’s University and for many years was a member of the
Advisory Board of the
School
of
Business
Administration
of The University of Texas at
Austin
.
In 1979, the
University
of
Texas
at
Austin
recognized Johnson as a Distinguished Alumnus of the
College
of
Business
Administration
.
In 1981-82, Johnson served as President of the San Antonio Country Club.
Johnson was a member of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI
and served as Chairman of the San Antonio Chapter in 1974-75.
He had served as President of the San Antonio Council of Presidents, as
a member of the Advisory Board of the
Institute
of
Texan
Cultures
,
of the American Institute of Character Education and also the Board and
Executive Committees and Treasurer of the Cancer Therapy and
Research
Center
.
He was a member of the Texas Cavaliers and was a member for many years
of the Argyle Club, Los Allegadores, The Revelers and the Civic Club.
Johnson was a former member of the Board of the Texas Division of the
American Automobile Association.
He was a member of the State Bar of Texas, the San Antonio Bar
Association and had been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court
of the
United
States
.
He was also a member of the
Texas
State
board of Public Accountancy. Johnson was one of the original members of
the Paseo Del Rio Organization and served as an Officer of the
Association.
He was formerly a member and Director of the Economic Development
Foundation.
In the sixties when
Trinity
University
was playing outstanding Intercollegiate football, Johnson was one of the
founders and an Officer of the Trinity Touchdown Club. He also served
for several years on the Trinity University Athletics Council. Working
through his close friend, Mr. Joe Freeman and Congressman Paul Kilday,
he was responsible for arranging for the United States Air Force Academy
to come to
San
Antonio
for a football game with
Trinity
University
.
Johnson served as a Director of the YMCA for several years and for
sixteen (16) years, the family hosted an annual fundraising gala for the
YMCA at their ranch in
Bulverde
,
Texas
.
In recognition of the Johnson’s involvement in this YMCA, the Board of
Directors established the Clyde Johnson, Jr. Endowment Fund for Youth
Development in 1990.
The Johnsons enjoyed fishing and boating on the
Gulf
Coast
,
and as a result, purchased a 50-foot Hatteras boat in
Ft.
Lauderdale
and brought it across the
Gulf
of Mexico
and through the Intercoastal Waterway to Key Allegro at
Rockport
,
Texas
,
where he then kept the boat for several years, until they sold it. The
boat was named the “DADA”, his wife’s nickname.
The Johnsons now maintain a condo in Port Aransas.
The Johnsons also enjoyed traveling and following his retirement from
Alamo Savings, they made several trips to
Europe
,
visited
Russia
,
Japan
and
China
and took many cruises, including two trips around the world on the
Curnard liners, Queen Elizabeth II (Q E II).
Johnson, his parents and family have been lifelong members of the First
Presbyterian Church in
San
Antonio
and he served as a Deacon of the Church as had his father before him.
There will be a private graveside service for family members, only.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s
Association at 7400 Louis Pasteur, Suite 200, San Antonio, TX 78229 or
the Texas Cavaliers Charitable Foundation, P.O. Box 6927, San Antonio,
TX 78209 or the charity of your choice
Special thanks to the personnel in the Alzheimer’s Unit at the Forum
and especially, Karen Kosub, the Director. Also, thanks to Patti Zapata
with Vista Care and her nurses. Arrangements
with Porter Loring Mortuary.
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