In Remembrance: William J. Johnson, FASLA
We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Johnson on September 10, 2024. Bill was a great friend and long-time supporter of the Landscape Architecture Foundation. He served on the LAF Board of Directors from 1987 to 1996, leading as President in 1992. In 2020, he was awarded LAF’s highest form of recognition, the LAF Medal, in honor of his groundbreaking integration of planning, analysis, and landscape architecture as well as his commitment to education. To celebrate his award, members of the LAF community submitted video tributes to Bill, which can be viewed below.
Bill was known for his analytical thinking and his ability to express complex ideas through insightful drawings. Shortly after co-founding JJR, he was commissioned to draft the University of Michigan’s master plan, which helped establish the firm and led to work throughout the Midwest and East Coast. In addition to his professional practice with JJR, as William J. Johnson Associates, and in partnership with Peter Walker, Johnson was a professor of landscape architecture for 30 years and Dean of the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources for 8 years.
Bill was an extraordinary man, and I am so honored to have known him. When he received the LAF Medal in 2020 and joined us for a recognition and panel discussion in 2021, it was a bright spot for us here at LAF during those difficult days of the pandemic. We are so grateful for the support he gave to LAF but also the larger impact he had on the profession and the lives of others.
Barbara Deutsch, FASLA, LAF CEO
More about Bill’s life and legacy can be found in his life story/obituary. In 2017, he was the subject of an in-depth oral history from The Cultural Landscape Foundation.
