In Memoriam
Wiley C. Johnson, Jr., 76, professor emeritus of agronomy and soils, died July 20.
Johnson was born Jan. 1, 1930, in Asheville, N.C., and was reared in Canton, N.C. He was a graduate of Canton High School, Wake Forest University and North Carolina State University. He received his Ph.D at Cornell University, where he was trained as an agronomist and plant breeder.
In 1957, he joined the Auburn faculty in the Department of Agronomy and Soils and worked in that department until his retirement as professor in 1992. During his distinguished 35-year career, Johnson conducted research as a forage legume breeder, general agronomic research on forage legumes and managed the Alabama Variety Testing Program. He excelled as a teacher and regularly taught courses each quarter during his career. He was a highly respected faculty adviser for agronomy undergraduate majors and served on numerous graduate student committees and as faculty adviser for the Auburn Ag Ambassadors.
Johnson was a long-time member of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and the Southern Pasture and Forage Crop Improvement Group, and was chosen for membership in the agricultural honorary society, Gamma Sigma Delta. He received numerous college and university awards for his dedicated teaching and student advising programs including the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence (1989), SGA Outstanding Faculty for the College of Agriculture (1989, 1990) and the Agronomy Club Outstanding Teacher Award (1982, 1987, 1990 and 1992).
Since his retirement from Auburn, Johnson served as director of research and plant breeder for Whitetail Institute of North America in Pintlala, Ala, where he developed the company's wildlife forage legumes. He had been a member of First Presbyterian Church for 49 years, was a 40-year member and past president of the Auburn Lion's Club, was active as a Boy Scouts of America volunteer and coached Little League baseball for several years. More recently, Johnson volunteered at the Auburn Food Bank and their outreach effort, the Brown Bag Program.
Johnson is survived by his wife of 54 years, Elizabeth Calvin Johnson, his sons, Wiley Carroll Johnson, III (June) of Tifton, Ga., and Calvin M. Johnson (Mary) of Auburn; four grandchildren; a sister, Jane Johnson Bird, and her husband, W.T. Bird of Waynesville, N.C.
Memorial donations for Johnson may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Auburn Building Fund or the Auburn Food Bank.