In Memoriam: Bob Johnson 1934-2015

Ask Bob Johnson's friends to describe him, and you get two distinct pictures of the former state legislator. One is the image he seemed to project to the world, the other the personality he shared with the many people with whom he worked closely.

“When you initially met him, he was kind of gruff,” says former state Rep. Jim Lombard, R-Sarasota. “But underneath, he had a great sense of humor and was very loyal.”

Johnson, a former state representative and senator who touched dozens of people, projects and philanthropic causes in the Sarasota-Manatee region, died Aug. 31 — the day before he would have turned 81.

Johnson spent 16 years in the state Legislature, serving in the House from 1970 to 1976 and 1982 to 1984 before moving to the Senate from 1984 to 1992. “People often say that places like Sarasota County should hire lobbyists to represent them in Tallahassee,” Lombard says. “Those of us in the legislature — Bob, as well as myself — felt we were the lobbyists for Sarasota.”

Johnson was a Republican elected to the legislature during a Democratic majority, and he had a reputation a willingness to work across party lines. But his friends say he was always willing to bluntly share opinions. “He was very direct,” Sarasota businessman Jim Tollerton says. “There was no mystery about what his message was when he was communicating with you.”

One of Johnson's landmark achievements in politics was the protective designation of the Myakka River as a wild and scenic river in 1985. Johnson also worked closely with New College of Florida in Sarasota.

Johnson was an attorney by trade, and worked up until the day he died. He came from a poor background, and many who knew him say he enjoyed seeing others succeed.

“He never forgot what it was to like to have to try to struggle out of the kind of beginnings from which he started,” says Sam Skogstad, a friend of Johnson's since college. “I think that explains his commitment to the civic organizations.”