Robert
(Bob) Thomas Johnson, Jr. (Atlanta Office)
On October 10th, 2018 a celebration of life service for Robert (Bob) Thomas Johnson, Jr. was held at St. Luke's Presbyterian Church Dunwoody, Georgia. Bob was quick witted and always had a smile on his face. He was a good man and genuinely interested in others. Jim Edwards, former Atlanta Office Managing Partner, asked the dozen or so Partners in attendance to stand for a moment of silence for their Partner. Bob’s minister, Shannon Dill, paid a fitting tribute to a man loved my many. She said “One of my favorite things about Bob was that he was a straight shooter. He didn’t have much time for pretension or platitudes. I was often inspired by his passionate honesty! Of course, seems that some people, are great at being honest, but when they are, they have a bite to them. Their honesty is brutal and often pain-inducing. But that was not my experience with Bob’s honesty. In fact, my experience with Bob’s honesty was anything but brutal. Instead, I experienced Bob’s honesty in a way that revealed as much about his faith than anything else that his forth-rightness might reveal” Think Straight, Talk Straight
Bob was born on December 22nd,
1935 in Greensboro, North Carolina to Robert T. Johnson, Sr and Gertrude Coble
Johnson. As a child he lived in Burlington, NC where he graduated from Williams
High School in 1954. A life-long athlete, he played football and golf there,
and was the star of their track team.
He is a
graduate of Duke University, where he served as president of his fraternity,
Alpha Tao Omega. He also continued his track participation as a sprinter: Bob
would say with a smile that he was the third fastest sprinter in the Atlantic
Coast Conference, and sometimes ran alongside the "world's fastest
human" - but was generally looking at the back of his head.
Following
graduation from Duke, Bob joined the accounting firm Arthur Andersen in New
York City, transferring to Charlotte, NC in 1959 and to Atlanta in 1975. He led
Andersen's Atlanta-based audit practice for the ten years prior to his
retirement in 1993 and was the first in his position to be inducted into the
Hall of Fame.
His 40+
years in Atlanta were rich in many ways. His love of golf was rekindled, and he
spent many joyous days trying desperately, and with only limited success, to
achieve the level of play on the course that he imagined for himself in the 1st
tee.
However,
he achieved much as a member at the Dunwoody Country Club. He served as its
president from 1993-1994 and scored a hole-in-one - he was pleased by both
milestones. His friendships there were legion, and he held a special love for
those he met there. Not least, his competitors at the gin table will be missed
for their good humor, tolerance and occasional willingness to part with a small
sum.
His
service to the community was broad, reflecting his abiding belief in the
goodness of his fellow man and his faith in God. He served on the executive
board of the Metro Atlanta YMCA and was an active member of St. Luke's
Presbyterian Church. At St. Luke's he was an enthusiastic, albeit modestly
discordant, member of the choir, and an Elder.
On the 6th of October, at the age of 82, Bob died peacefully. Bob was blessed in many ways, but was most proud and appreciative of those he is survived by - his wife, Joyce; their children, Elizabeth Johnson, Christi Plaster [Henry Plaster], Robert Johnson [Susan Johnson], Trey Bruns [Amanda Bruns], and Margaret Chiles [Russell Chiles]; his sister, Gertrude Revelle; and her children, Helen Cain [Jim Cain] and Guy Revelle [Tina Revelle]. He also leaves six grandchildren - Elie and Henry Plaster, Caroline and Josh Johnson, and Macon and Victor Chiles - each of whom he would tell you was his favorite.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Wounded Warriors Project or St. Luke's would be welcomed.