Russell Johnson

Jan 11, 1939 - March 8, 2017

Russell Johnson of San Francisco died of lung cancer on March 8, 2017. Russ was born in New Orleans, LA, on January 11, 1939, the second child of Jack and Eloise Johnson. He is survived by his loving wife of 36 years, Doris Grant. He is also survived by his ex-wife, Amy (Emerson) and their three children, Ethan (Helen) of Portland, OR, Paula of Oakland, and Martin (Tracy) of Berkeley. He is also survived by his adored grandsons, Kahlil, Solas, Rafiq Wall-Johnson and Isley Tenzin Johnson.

After graduating from high school, Russ followed his family to San Francisco where he attended City College and then joined the Navy as a Medical Corpsman. On returning home he attended Hayward State University for his teaching credential and taught in Berkeley for eleven years. He then became a real estate broker.

Russ was a man before his time. As early as the 60’s, he was involved in fair housing and women’s rights. Russ’s passions centered around food, traveling and dancing. He was a great cook and often invited friends and family to enjoy his cooking. His passion for food extended to the Berkeley Farmers Market where he would bake cookies and pastries to trade with the market vendors, as well as volunteer as a salesman. Many people at the market knew and loved him. Another passion was dancing, at which he was an expert. He also loved to travel. He was a great communicator and didn’t know a stranger. He made friends easily, even in foreign lands, as he and Doris traveled the globe. Russ was a man who was really “out there” and told it like it was! He will be sorely missed and lovingly remembered. A memorial will be held in May.

Our deepest thanks go to the fantastic and loving doctors, nurses and staff at UCSF L6.