Johnson, Robert
JOHNSON, Robert Adair "Bob"
Bob Johnson was a newsman in his heart and a musician in his soul. He was a complex man, irascible and admired. In his quarter-century career at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bob was a tough and meticulous editor. Out of the newsroom, he delighted in playing his guitar and singing.
Robert Adair Johnson, 85, of Smyrna, died Saturday, September 9, 2023.
The Corpus Christi, TX, native began his newspaper career at age 12, with a paper route. He earned his journalism degree at the University of Texas and went to work at the Houston Post. He joined the AJC in 1967 and served as editor in many of the paper's divisions, notably as city editor and editor of the Cobb bureau. He could immediately spot incorrect or missing information in a story and didn't hesitate to make the reporter go back to a source for details. He was blunt and unbending but reporters respected and admired him because he was usually right.
Bob had a softer side. He delivered Meals on Wheels and was a familiar figure walking his beloved dog, Manny around the neighborhood. On those walks he would, without comment, commit acts of kindness for neighbors. After a divorce, Bob reared his two sons alone for a few years before re-marrying. He was not very different at home, often harsh, impatient and direct. Yet there was always music between Bob playing his 1964 Gibson B25 guitar and his extensive record collection. Singer songwriter, John Prine was the favorite among his wide-ranging music preference from folk to outlaw country. Bluegrass festivals drew him like a magnet, and he was a regular at the Great Southeast Music Hall Emporium and Performing Arts Exchange Inc. Annual vacations to St. George Island, before it was a high-end destination, started with the trip down in his old Volkswagen bus that topped out at 59 miles per hour and had an 8-track tape player. The family sang all the way, wearing out Paul Simon's Kodachrome and Fleetwood Mac's Rumors tapes. By day, Bob taught his sons to body surf. At night, they would play cards and dominoes and sing along with Bob on the guitar.
Beyond entertaining family and friends with his guitar and singing, at 50, Bob picked up the tuba again after playing it in high school and college. He bought a beat-up old tuba, took lessons, and shaved off his mustache so he could blow into the mouthpiece better. After a couple of years practice, he joined the Callanwolde Concert Band. Playing with the wind band about 30 years, he particularly enjoyed its Christmas and Independence Day performances. Bob only quit the band when he could no longer load his tuba into and out of his old Ford Ranger pickup truck, which replaced the family's VW bus.
Later in life, he took up golf again. He chose the earliest Sunday tee time at Brown's Mill Golf Course, his favorite. He preferred municipal golf courses because they brought together working-class people who enjoyed the game, his kind of people. An inveterate story-teller, Bob regaled people with anecdotes from his newspaper days and the characters he was paired with on the golf course.
Survivors include his wife, Betty Root Johnson of Smyrna; two sons, Miller Adair Johnson of Smyrna, and Robert Oliver Johnson of Catonsville, MD; a stepdaughter, Tracey Rafter of Ocala, FL; a stepson, Steve Rafter of Virginia Beach, VA; two sisters, Grace Eloise Johnson of Florence, TX, and Eleanor Ann Mantooth of Blanco, TX; and four grandchildren, Griffin Adair Johnson, Rain Elizabeth Johnson and Anna Grace Johnson, all of Catonsville, and Emily Rae Sanchez of Woodstock.
