Willie  James "Will Johnson" Johnson

(May 8 1952 - March 2, 2008)

 

 

Miami Herald File, 2006
Civic Leaer: Wil Johnson, shown in 2006, A native of Coconut Grove, works in his office at Frankie S. Rolle Center. 

              

WILL JAMES JOHNSON, 55: Aide to commissioner also was a tireless activist
 

   By David Smiley
 

Will James Johnson's passion for his hometown is evident throughout the West Grove.

His fingerprints are on a revamped Grand Avenue. His voice is in the new music room at Elizabeth Virrick Park. His sweat is on the scrubbed stone coffins at Coconut Grove's historic cemetery.

His work is now his legacy.

Johnson, an aide to County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez and a tireless community activist, went to sleep Saturday in his Thomas Avenue home and didn't wake up. He was 55.

Johnson traveled around the world as a public affairs officer for the U.S. Army but returned home to Coconut Grove in 1993 because he felt he had a calling, said wife Miok Johnson.

By 1996, Johnson's work with the local homeowners group earned him a spot on the staff of newly elected District 7 County Commissioner Jimmy Morales.

"He was very matter-of-fact," Morales said. "He didn't want to give speeches. He wanted to help."

Johnson did help, pushing forward a $4.2 million project to spruce up Grand Avenue, the main drag through the West Grove. He also was part of the administration that backed the Douglas Road Metrorail Station overpass.

Johnson also brought new ideas to the table. When it was suggested the commissioner's office give out toys during the holidays, Johnson wanted to give out computers.

The first recipient: San Francisco 49ers star Frank Gore, who at the time was a Coral Gables High student struggling with reading, Morales said.

"He really, really loved that community without a doubt," said Gimenez, who kept Johnson on the District 7 staff when he took over for Morales. "He had his finger on the pulse of the neighborhood."

BORN IN THE GROVE

Johnson was born May 5, 1952 in Coconut Grove. He graduated from Coral Gables High and enlisted in the U.S. Army in the late 1970s, said Miok Johnson.

The couple met in Korea, where Johnson was stationed as a public affairs officer.

He taught her English and she taught him Korean.

In 1989, on his birthday, Johnson wrote her a note in English asking her to marry him.

Johnson loved to write, she said. He penned a monthly column for The Miami Herald Neighbors section and, when spurred by an article he disagreed with, could write scathing letters to the editor.

The couple married in 1990 and made their home in Virginia. Then one day, Johnson announced he had to return to the Grove.

'He said, 'As much as I love the military and what I'm doing as a journalist something tells me I need to go home,' " she said.

One of Johnson's first acts was to join a group formed to revitalize Elizabeth Virrick Park, which by the early '90s had turned into a haven for prostitutes and drug addicts. Today, the park is a sanctuary for children.

Those who knew Johnson say they are struggling to cope with his loss.

"We are all in shock," said Rosalyn Sparks, a longtime member of the Village West Homeowners and Tenants Association, which Johnson headed until stepping down last January.

As association president, Johnson galvanized the community, Sparks said.

He fought against the perception that the West Grove was a bad place and was part of the drive to rename the community as Village West.

RECENT WORK

Recently, he helped pull together a panel of historians, developers, politicians and attorneys to address the factors pushing out native Grovites.

"Will was like the encyclopedia for this community," said Pierre Sands, who took over as president of the association last January.

Thelma Gibson, former Miami city commissioner and native Grovite, said Johnson was more than a spring of knowledge, he was a bullhorn.

"He has been the voice for the West Grove," she said.

In addition to his wife, Johnson is survived by two brothers, a sister and his mother.

Memorial Services will be held 2 p.m. Saturday at the Elizabeth Virrick Park.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Elizabeth Virrick Park Committee library fund, 3870 Washington Ave.

© 2008 Miami Herald Media Company.