Brethren,
The roll of the workmen has been called, and Illustrious Brother Walter “Walt” Eugene Johnson, Jr., 33°, Grand Cross, born August 12th, 1934, at Pueblo, Colorado, has not answered to his name. He was Initiated on November 25, 1955, Passed to the Degree of Fellow Craft on December 22nd, 1955, and Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on January 21st, 1956, in South Pueblo Lodge No. 31, A.F.&A.M. of Colorado. He was Invested as Master or Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret of the 32° of the A.&A. Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, S.J., U.S.A., on November 14th, 1962, in the Southern Colorado Consistory of the Colorado Springs-Pueblo Valley in the Orient of Colorado, he was Invested as a Knight commander of the Court of Honour on November 14th, 2009, Coroneted as a 33rd Degree Inspector General Honorary on August 27th, 2013, and bestowed the 33° Grand Cross of the Court of Honour on August 19th, 2017.
Growing up in Pueblo, Colorado, Illustrious Brother Walt’s father was a Mason, and his parents were highly active in the Eastern Star, his father passed away during his early teens, and Bro. Walt became the man of the house. Bro. Walt was a Senior DeMolay and Boy Scout, this is where he learned the lessons of charity, morality, and hard work. Bro. Walt chose for his Eagle Scout project to teach the children at the local orphanage how to ski. He had to get permission from the Sisters who ran the orphanage, and he had to obtain the equipment for skiing. Bro. Walt not only received permission, but he also got the equipment donated for the class and became an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Central High School in Pueblo in 1952.
Bro. Walt attended college at the University of Colorado in Boulder and graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Electronics in 1957. While at University he was enrolled in the Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps, after graduating he joined the U.S. Navy, serving from 1957 to 1960, during that time he received a commission working in the Naval Investigative Service (NIS). He was in the Naval Reserve for 10 years, and became a Blue and Gold officer, mentoring youth about the possibility of going to the Naval Academy.
After his service Lincoln Mercury automotives became Bro. Walt’s calling professionally. He went into Automobile sales and operated Walt Johnson Lincoln Mercury in Pueblo. He also opened a Lincoln Mercury Dealership in Colorado Springs, moving there in 1976. He later got an opportunity to separate from a former partnership and start a new business in Portland, Oregon, Walt Johnson Lincoln-Mercury, Mazda in Portland. Through his perseverance in his career Bro. Walt was elected to the National Advisory Dealer Board as first the Vice Chairman of the Board, and then later Chairman. Around that time Bro. Walt became friends with Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca. Bro. Walt ended up owning several automotive dealerships along 122nd Street in East Portland, he later sold and leased some of the properties to other dealerships. Bro. Walt served as a judge and emcee for the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance and loved restoring and judging classic cars. His home garage was a mix of beautiful collector cars spanning several decades.
He received his 50-year Masonic Service Award in Colorado in 2006. In Oregon, Bro. Walt affiliated with Lents Lodge No. 156, A.F.&A.M. of Oregon on March 12th, 2009, he served as Worshipful Master in 2010, received his 60-year service award in 2016, and the Hiram Award for outstanding service in 2019 from Lents Lodge. He was Lents’ Lodge Chaplin in 2020.
Bro. Walt became a Noble in the Al Kaly Shrine in Pueblo, Colorado, on May 24th, 1963, he later transferred his membership to the Al Kadar Shrine in Wilsonville, Oregon, where he was a Permanent Contributing Member. In the Oregon Shriner’s association Bro. Walt served on the Portland Shriner’s hospital board for many years where he ended his tenure as Chairman of the board.
In Scottish Rite, Bro. Walt was reinstated in Colorado Springs-Pueblo Valley on July 7th, 2003, demitted, and joined the Portland Valley by affiliation on December 30th, 2004. In the Portland Valley he was Invested as a Knight commander of the Court of Honour on November 14th, 2009, Coroneted as a 33rd Degree Inspector General Honorary on August 27th, 2013, and bestowed the 33° Grand Cross of the Court of Honour on August 19th, 2017. He served on the board as Chairman and was an emeritus member of the Orient of Oregon Speech & Language Charity, during his time as Chair he helped lead the organization through substantial changes to its structure that enabled the charity to continue its sole mission to help Oregon’s children directly with hearing and speech therapy. He served on the Board of the Oregon Scottish Rite Education Foundation, assisting to provide scholarships to Oregon high school students to attend college. He served as the Personal Representative to the Sovereign Grand Inspector General of Oregon for the Portland Valley from 2014 to 2016, and also as the Executive Director of the Orient of Oregon during the same time. He was Elected as the first President of the Portland Valley Temple Preservation Foundation in 2017 and served in that capacity until 2020.
Every year at Christmas, Bro. Walt bought socks for the homeless and handed them out, and he worked on programs to provide showers and sanitation facilities to people living on the streets of Portland. Bro. Walt had the ability to make people feel welcomed, needed, special, and comfortable. The entire membership of the Oregon Scottish Rite looked up to him and listened to him. He has helped many Brother Masons find jobs, mentored Brothers, and helped them meet the right people. Bro. Walt belonged to and knew the Who’s Who in Oregon and beyond. He will be missed, and his contributions to our craft and society at large remembered for many years to come.
On August 20th, 2022, the Great Architect of the Universe smiled upon him and taking him by the hand, gently led him to that “house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.” There is no death. All that is beautiful and good and true in human life is no more affected by the shadow called death than by the darkness that divides today from tomorrow. In this, our Brother’s hour of victory, we should rejoice that we can see far enough into the future to know that all is well with him. He is but a step-in advance of us and we thank the Great Architect that we had known and loved him for a while.
A Scottish Rite memorial will be held for Illustrious Brother Walt during the festivities at the Feast of the Manifesto on September 6th, 2022. The upcoming 2022 Portland Valley Fall Reunion will be named in his Honor.