Willie "Doug" Johnson

Obituary For Willie Johnson

Willie Douglas Johnson was born January 23, 1941 in Forest, Mississippi to Goldie and Noah Johnson.   He was their only child.  At an early age, the family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.  In high school Willie showed an interest in designing houses, and buildings, and was encouraged by one of his teachers to pursue a degree in architecture.  He said he had never heard the word “architecture,” and had to go to the dictionary to look up the meaning.  He won an award for a home he designed and then built a small scale model of that home.  While still in high school he was hired to work part time with Julius Gabriel, a noted architect in Las Vegas. His salary was one dollar a day. He thought he had won the lottery!!

In 1959 Willie graduated from Las Vegas High School. He decided to attend the University of Oregon because he had heard about their very good architecture school.  It was during this time that he began using either his middle name “Doug,” or “Willie. ” He would kiddingly say that  with the exception of himself, and his cousin Willie Harris in Portland, most of the other  “Willies ” he knew stayed in trouble. He attended the University of Oregon for two years before being drafted into the Navy.  He enjoyed the traveling experiences of the Navy, but would have “passed ” on the time he spent on board the ship in the cold Alaskan waters. He eventually returned to the University of Oregon, where he received a Bachelor of Architecture degree.  He met his future wife Beverly Joyce Peterson in 1969 at University of Oregon and they were married January 17,1975. Their son Eric was born in 1978.

Willie worked as an architectural designer for several companies, as well as many times independently, throughout his career.  These included Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill;  Safeway Stores; and Timberform.  One of his proudest achievements was working on the design team for the West Las Vegas Library in Las Vegas, Nevada.  A goal, he fought for very hard, was for that particular library to have  all the advantages in terms of design, equipment, and staffing that the other libraries in Las Vegas had been given.

Willie had a variety of things he enjoyed.  He like reading about the buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright, as well traveling to see some of those buildings in person. He enjoyed riding the Amtrak Coast Starlight train with Beverly from Portland to Las Vegas and back; many times to visit family and friends. He loved working with Eric on model cars as well as attending games in the sports that Eric participated in.

Willie leaves cherish his memories, his wife of 39 years, Beverly, his son Eric, and many family members, and friends.  He will be missed!!