"Longtime Friend, A Great Supporter Of Aviation And EAA"

Samuel C. Johnson, the chairman emeritus of SC Johnson Wax who helped launch the EAA Young Eagles program, died of cancer at his Racine, Wisconsin, home Saturday, May 22, at the age of 76. During his 34-year tenure, Johnson led his family's company to become a multi-billion-dollar worldwide conglomerate.

His passion for aviation brought him to another Wisconsin organization-EAA. He was a "longtime friend, a great supporter of aviation and EAA," said EAA Founder and Chairman Paul Poberezny. "He contributed to EAA in many ways. He believed in aviation and people and in to the standards we set as an organization."

Johnson especially believed in young people. "Sam was one of the first to step forward in support of EAA's Young Eagles Program and lent it the credibility that it needed in the early days," said EAA President Tom Poberezny. But his contribution went beyond the $1 million endowment. "He was an active participant in the program he helped create and he flew nearly 200 Young Eagles. Without him, it would have been difficult to reach our goal of flying one million kids. We are all saddened at this loss, but Sam left a tremendous legacy, which will keep his memory alive."
 
In 1997, Johnson received EAA's highest honor, the Freedom of Flight Award, and he is a past member of the EAA President's Council and a current member of EAA Chapter 838 in Racine. "He meant quite a bit to the Chapter, obviously," said Chapter President Tom Christensen. "That's an understatement. He was a great benefactor for the Chapter and our facility. When the facilities were in the building phase, he helped out tremendously."
 
But his greatest involvement came through the Young Eagles program, Christensen stressed. "I can recall when I was the interim Young Eagles Coordinator for the Chapter and his secretary told me, 'You've got to call at least three weeks in advance so we can put it on his calendar!' That was something that he looked forward to doing. He was emphatic that 'We've got to teach these kids, get them involved in aviation,'"
Christensen added. "It was from that spin-off that our Chapter got into the schools. We did a six-week program in a local school in 2003 about aviation, as well as the EAA Wild Blue Wonders program."

 
He loved aviation, and loved the replica Sikorsky S-38 amphibian (above), named Carnauba, in which Johnson recreated his father's 1935 flight to Brazil in an S-38 of the same name that searched for a reliable source of Carnauba palms, a key ingredient of the family products. As part of this project Johnson made a touching film about the replica's construction and flight that was also an introspective examination of his relationship with his father.
 
Several years ago, Johnson shared his film with EAAers at the annual Hall of Fame banquet at the EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh. Visitors to the EAA AirVenture Museum can see parts of it at the S-38 exhibit, and in his eyes and through his words, one clearly feels Johnson's passion for flight.
 
Weather permitting, the S-38 will fly over Sam Johnson's memorial services in Racine on Thursday. The airplane lives at the Racine Chapter museum and, said Chapter 838's Christensen, "I think he's behind the controls of an S-38 right now, heading down to Brazil."

Sam Johnson has gone West -- indeed, perhaps, in an S-38. Happy landings, Sam.

FMI: www.eaa.org