Carl Johnson Obituary

Johnson, Carl Erick 92, died on September 1, 2006, at his home in Brookhaven, MS. He was born in Chicago in 1914. His parents, Carl Johnson and Hilma Erickson, emigrated from Sweden as children, and met and married in the United States. Born in Chicago, he spent his early childhood in Foley, Ala., where his parents had a farm, before returning with his family to the Berwyn, IL., area as a teen. He received his bachelor¹s and master's degrees in Chemistry from the University of Chicago, where he was a member of the Phoenix Society. He was a research chemist, working full time for Nalco Chemical Company for over 30 years, and as a consultant to them for over an additional 15 years. He held 31 patents for his work in water treatment, corrosion inhibitors, and the oil products industry. When Nalco opened their laboratory in Brookhaven, Mr. Johnson moved to become a director. He was a Nalco Lifetime Associate, member of Sigma Xi, and a member of the American Chemical Society for over 50 years. He was an avid traveler, crossing the United States and Canada numerous times. In his family room, several maps of North America displayed the routes of the many trips he took his family on. He was a frequent golfer, playing almost daily until he was 85, at the Brookhaven Country Club, where he was a longtime member. In Illinois, he had been active as a Boy Scout leader and had been a school board member in Westchester and Glen Ellyn. Mr. Johnson kept active until his last day. He was married to Ruth E. Johnson for 51 years, prior to her death in 1993. He had two children, Daniel Carl Johnson, of Brookhaven, and Alice R. Brainerd, of Maryland, his two granddaughters, Heather B. Hicks and Amanda C. Brainerd, live in Colorado, his two great-grandsons, Erik Hicks and Logan Hicks, are of Colorado also. The eldest of seven children, Mr. Johnson's surviving brothers are Albert Johnson of Arizona; Roy Johnson, of Arizona; and Kenneth Johnson, of California, his other siblings were Herbert Johnson, Adelaide Johnson Johns, and Vera Johnson Stevens. Services for Carl Erick Johnson, of Brookhaven, Miss., are 11 a.m. Friday, September 8th at Harrigill Funeral Home, with burial at Easthaven Cemetery. Viewing is Thursday, September 7, from 5 until 8 p.m. at the funeral home, and from 8 a.m. until the ceremony on Friday. Memorials may be sent to the University of Chicago, Office of Development and Alumni Relations, 4th Floor, 5801 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Illinois, 60637, or 1-800-644-0049.