Deceased November 10, 2016
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In Memory
Amherst lost one of its most loyal and engaging sons with the death on Nov. 10, 2016, of Arne Robert Johnson after a long illness (progressive supra nuclear palsy).
Although he was born in Bridgeport Conn., it was New Britain, Conn., that was his true hometown, as it is mine. He prepared for college at the Taft School. Behind Arne’s wry smile was an immense zest for life, for friendship, for civic responsibility and for Amherst. He attended many reunions, served on the board of Alpha Theta Xi and even married his wife of 39 years, Nancy (Rodgers) Johnson, in Johnson Chapel.
In senior year, on those fine idle golden afternoons after turning in their honors theses, Arne, Jeff Crane ’57, Phil Pfatteicher ’57 and Peter Tilley ’57 liked to pile into Jeff’s white-painted and gold-grilled Studebaker and go “ghouling.” This involved driving out into the country until they came upon an old cemetery. They would stop, get out, enter the cemetery and read the old grave stones. Arne’s zest for such activities was boundless. He knew how to enjoy life while also being an immensely hard worker.
From Amherst he went on to Harvard Law School. After graduation he was for many years a corporate attorney until one winter a hazardous commute from Boston to his home in Newport, R.I., finally convinced him to shift the focus of his legal work. Thereafter he practiced family law in Newport, retiring in 1999. He immensely enjoyed sailing in his cabin cruiser, Sequal, and participating in many civic organizations.
His essential spirit is captured by his Newport friend Ken Brockway: “Arne was a loyal and committed Rotarian who truly believed ‘service above self’. ... we older Rotarians ... will miss his wry humor and, of course, his passion for the Red Sox.”
John H. Underhill ’57