Carl Johnson, 1922-2010

MEREDITH —With the passing on Saturday of Carl Johnson, 88, the Lakes Region lost one of its most revered and respected public servants, whose many honors and awards were crowned by the lasting impression he left on friends and foes alike as "a perfect gentleman."

"If ever there was a gentleman," said Fred King of Colebrook, who shared three of Johnson's five terms in the New Hampshire Senate, "it was Carl Johnson."

"Always a perfect gentleman," echoed Leo Fraser, who sat next to Johnson in the Senate chamber for three terms.

"Carl was a gentleman of the old school," remarked Sheila Roberge, the retiring Dean of the Senate. "He was a man of great compassion and intelligence."

Born in Winchester, Massachusetts, Johnson and his older brother Arthur were promising southpaws in the Boston Braves farm system before World War II. Arthur pitched three seasons for the Braves, but Carl, who roomed with Warren Spahn — whose 363 wins are the most of any lefthander — while the two played in Bradford, Pennsylvania, never reached the big leagues. After serving in the Pacific theater with the United States Coast Guard during the war, left the baseball diamond for the steel industry, first as a manufacturer's representative and later as the owner and operator of Johnson Supply Company of Belmont.

Johnson's career in public service turned around education, economic development and the environment. He served on the Inter-Lakes School Board for 27 years before deciding not to seek re-election last year. In 1990, Johnson was elected to the first of two terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and four years later to the first of his five terms in the Senate.

Peter Brothers, a Meredith selectman, recalled Johnson tapping him for the school board in 1990. "He paid my buck to file," he said. "I learned a lot from Carl, who was a very good mentor and a source of wise counsel."

As a senator, he was named a "champion of Plymouth State University" in 2003 for his efforts on behalf of the school, which also honored him for outstanding public service in 2006.

In the Senate, Johnson was best known for his chairmanship of the Environment and Wildlife Committee, where he put his shoulder to safeguarding natural resources, especially the waters of his beloved lakes. "If it was not for Carl Johnson, a lot of the legislation protecting our lakes would not be in place today," said Jared Teutsch, president of the New Hampshire Lakes Association. "If we needed a bill, Carl would introduce it. We could always count on him." In 2002, the association honored him with the first John Morten Award for stewaredship.

Johnson was a mainstay of the Loon Preservation Committee, Waukewan Watershed Advisory Commitee and Lakes Region Conservation Trust, all of which recognized his contributions with awards and commendations. His support for the Land and Community Heritage Program earned him the recognition of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Likewise, Johnson's efforts on behalf of the Lakes Region business community earned him the Norman Marsh Award from the Belknap County Economic Development Council along with honors from the Meredith Chamber of Commerce, the New Hampshire Timberand Owners Association and Ski NH. After recognizing Johnson's achievements in 2002, the New Hampshire Health Care Association renamed its annual legislative award after Johnson two years later.

"Carl knew how to deal with people," said King. "He was one of those rare individuals who could get things done without being abusive. He was very effective, but he did it the old fashioned way by always being a gentleman."

Brothers remembered Johnson advising him "don't ever try to convert someone whose fundamental principles are at odds with yours. Instead, go out and find the people who agree with you."

Johnson, virtually always accompanied by Jeannette, his wife of 67 years, was also an energetic campaigner. Brothers said that the couple seemed rarely to eat at home because they attended so many meetings and functions. When the electoral map was redrawn after the 2000 census, Johnson's district swapped 20 towns in Carroll County for 27 towns in Grafton County. Undaunted John and his wife seized the opportunity to make new friends and alliances. "They went to every selectmen's meeting, bean supper, old home day and parade they could get to," Brothers said.

Perhaps Johnson's finest hour in the Senate went largely unnoticed. In 1998, for the first time since the sinking of the Titanic, the Democrats won a majority of the 24 seats. But, before the first session ended, the Democratic Senate President, Clesson "Junie" Blaisdell of Keene, died and was succeeded by Beverly Hollingworth of Hampton. In a special election, Blaisdell was succeeded by a Republican, leaving the Senate evenly divided between the two parties.

Senator Jack Barnes of Raymond, who counted Johnson among the handful of his close friends in the Statehouse, said that Johnson, then the Republican leader, resisted calls to press for a realignment of the Senate leadership. "He thought more of the state of New Hampshire and the Senate than he did of himself," Barnes said.

Hollingworth, now an executive councilor, said that "Carl was very cooperative, very supportive," noting that tensions in the Legislature ran high at the time with the impeachment proceedings of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court David Brock. "He was a true, true gentlemen in every sense of the word and led with his kindly and gentle way."

Barnes said that when Johnson lost his bid for a sixth term in 2006, he was deeply hurt by the harsh attacks of Deb Reynolds, his Democratic opponent, which he said unjustly impugned his "character and credibility." But, Barnes continued, despite the urgings of family and friends to respond in kind, Johnson refused. "It broke his heart, but he remained a gentleman."

Johnson is survived by his wife Jeannette, son Carl, Jr., daughter Linda as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.