Robert Edward Johnston
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Sep 20th, 2017
- Death Date: Sep 20, 2017
- Save: Print this Obituary
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Biography: Robert Edward Johnston died suddenly while jogging on September 20, 2017. He was born September 11, 1940, the son of the Ezekiel Bennett Johnston and Kathleen Connelly Johnston of Pine Bluff. Robert was a graduate of Pine Bluff High School, Rice University, and Columbia University. While at Rice he was an all-Southwest Conference football player, playing in the Sugar Bowl and the Bluebonnet Bowl, and was awarded academic all-American status by President John F. Kennedy. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys but declined in order to accept a Rhodes scholarship for study at Oxford University. He was a retired professor of political science and economics at UALR and the US Military Academy at West Point, former chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission, appointed by then-Governor Bill Clinton, and former member of the Arkansas legislature, representing the Quapaw Quarter and East Little Rock. A lifelong Democrat, Robert was a passionate advocate for public education, a champion of refugees, an early and avid supporter of women?s rights and environmental causes, and a committed demonstrator for peace and racial justice. He founded an all-volunteer charity, ?Feed the Hungry,? which fed breakfast five days a week for twelve years to the homeless of Little Rock. A frequent contributor to the ?Letters to the Editor? page of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and the Arkansas Times, Robert was a constant gadfly spurring the ?haves? to acknowledge their responsibilities to those less fortunate. He taught Sunday school at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and was a member of ?The Old Guys? Book Club.? Also an avid outdoorsman, he summited eleven 14,000 ft. mountains in Colorado and the 19,000 ft. Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. He ran dozens of 10Ks and 5 marathons, but claimed his most dramatic running was 3 miles at an 8 minute pace with President Bill Clinton, twice from the White House and once in Kiev, Ukraine. He became a lifelong skier after learning to ski while teaching at West Point and also made many canoe trips around the country. He lived abroad in both Indonesia and the former Soviet Union, while working as a consultant to the US Agency for International Development, and loved to travel the world, including annual trips to Scotland. Robert is survived by his sister, Joann Johnston, of Little Rock and his son, Jay Johnston, (daughter in law, Christy; grandchildren, Lena and Duncan) of Washington, DC, as well as longtime companion, Matilda Buchanan. The funeral will be at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, September 23. Memorials requested to Trinity Cathedral lecture series, Central Arkansas Library System, Little Rock Arkansas Salvation Army ?Feed the Hungry? program.
Ameedah Munir/North Little Rock,AR/muniramy@yahoo.com
His legacy of helping the homeless and the least of us will live on.
Robert left a legacy to remember; there is no greater parting gift than a life well lived and service to human beings. For those who are religious, he was welcomed in heaven by many, of this I testify.
Love to you all,
Ed Red
Like me, Robert had been admitted to Rice's engineering school on his academic credentials but also won a full athletic scholarship (a rare combination in those days). He was a star engineering student and major student leader. He finished Rice as a Rhodes Scholar and the top ROTC officer. For his military service he was given the highly prestigious assignment as a professor at West Point.
These honors were unheard of for a major athlete, which Robert certainly was - all Southwest Conference and Academic All American, famous for "manhandling" legendary Texas Tech linebacker E.J Holub his senior year.
Robert was also committed to public service. Many thought he would get Senator Fulbright's Arkansas seat someday. (I believe he was even married to Fulbright's daughter for a while.) But many missteps and unlucky breaks intervened in his political career. Nevertheless, he held a senior position when Bill Clinton was Governor, was head of the state's utility comsision, and held prestigious academic posts. He also served admirably overseas in the Agency for International Development in Indonesia (where I last saw him) and elsewhere.
There have been few like him; we will miss him. God Bless and Rest in Peace.