The Reverend David Johnson—dynamic parish minister, UU historian, lover and scholar of UU hymnody, and passionate advocate for the learned ministry as well as for the marginalized and oppressed—died in an automobile accident while on a road trip on 22 July 2019, aged 83.
Dave Johnson’s brash activism started early, as recalled by a fellow student at Meadville Lombard, John Keohane: “It was David Johnson who convinced me to cut classes for a week and go with him, David Bumbaugh, and Yoshi Fukashima to May Meetings in Boston, that spring of 1961. Dave got all of us free lodging at the homes of Unitarian ministers Joe Barth and John Nichols Booth. We were present at the creation of the UUA.”
One of David Johnson’s deep concerns was for what he saw as the growth of “an illiterate ministry” among too many UU clergy. Speaking of this worry to the study group Collegium as its Distinguished Scholar in 2004, David recounted how some “Universalist questions” he submitted to the MFC ended up being unused because no one on the Ministerial Fellowship Committee knew what an adequate answer might be—this despite one of the questions being simply to “invite them to name three persons they valued from the Universalist pilgrimage.”
David Axel Johnson was born on 16 October 1935 in Buffalo, New York, to Axel H. and Glenna B. Johnson. After graduation from Antioch College (OH) in 1958 with a B.A. in sociology, he earned an M.A. in philosophy at the University of Illinois in 1961 and a B.D. at Meadville Lombard Theological School in 1964.
Mr. Johnson was ordained on 25 October 1964 by the Unitarian Society of Cleveland OH. He enjoyed successive settlements in Bloomington IN (1964–1970), Pittsburgh PA (1970–1973), Tucson AZ (1973–88), and Brookline MA (1988–2003), and was elected emeritus in both Tucson and Brookline. An account of his innovative ministry in Tucson spans 18 pages (pp. 47-64) in the church’s history. After formal retirement, the Rev’d Mr. Johnson served interim ministries in New Bedford, Bridgewater, Hudson, Chatham, Plymouth, Provincetown, and Quincy—all in Massachusetts.
At his death, David was survived by his wife Julie Coulter, sons Kirk, Erik, and Matthew Johnson, stepchildren James, Nancy, and Darren MacDonald, and several grandchildren.
A celebration of David’s life was held on 1 August 2019 at the First Parish of Brookline MA. Memorial donations were encouraged to the Unitarian Universalist Retired Ministers and Partners Association (UURMaPA).