Obituary: David Justus Johnson Jr.

David Justus Johnson Jr., age 93, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, passed away on December 20, 2014, after a brief illness and a long life.

David was born in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated from Armour Tech (Illinois Institute of Technology). He met his wife of 69 years, Jane Louise Somers, of Evanston, Illinois, on a blind date arranged by a member of her brother Roger Ward Somer’s jazz band.

He is survived by his children David Somers Johnson (Galina), Ann Scappaticci, Roger Ward Johnson (Deborah), and Katherine Jane Martin (Melvin); his grandchildren Cheryl and Stephan Scappaticci (Susan), Ben Johnson (Kathleen Lordo), Shawna Martin, Chelsea Martin, and David Martin; great-grandchildren Jameson and Isabella Scappaticci, and Aurora Jane Johnson.

David was preceded in death by parents David Justus Johnson and Emily Sundell Johnson, and sisters Grace Hager and Hattie.

He traveled to Fulton Bellows of Knoxville early in World War II to work on equipment for the Manhattan Project. When he asked a former science teacher at Republic Flow Meters (Chicago) what was going on in Oak Ridge, the teacher book marked a chapter in a chemistry textbook. He told David to look at that page after the science teacher left the room and not to tell anyone. David was later transferred to Oak Ridge in 1944 in order to help finish the fission mission.

After retiring from Union Carbide Nuclear Corporation, David and Jane moved to Hebbertsburg, Tennessee, along Daddy’s Creek. They made many friends there during 25 years in Cumberland County. He became a renowned craftsman of Renaissance and Baroque keyboard instruments including harpsichords, clavichords, forte-piano, and a 250-pipe tracker organ now located in the chapel at St. Stephen’s Episcopal church in Oak Ridge. They later moved back to Oak Ridge in 2006.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Music Ministry, 212 North Tulane Ave., Oak Ridge, TN 37830, or the Anderson County Democratic Party, 122 Salem Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.

David was cremated, and a memorial service is planned at a later date. Martin Funeral Home of Oak Ridge is handling arrangements.