RICHARD BENJAMIN JOHNSON, JR., M.D., Ph.D., 80, of Houston, Texas, passed away on May 16, 2025.
Richard was born April 22, 1945, to Richard Benjamin Johnson and Berniece (McCarroll) Johnson in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
The family moved to Orange, Texas, in 1946 where Richard and his two younger brothers, James Noble Johnson and Philip McCarroll Johnson, were raised by their parents with the help of music and God’s love at the First Presbyterian Church of Orange, Texas.
Richard played the trumpet in the school bands from junior high school through college. He graduated from Lutcher Stark High School Class of 1963 with honors in physics and typing.
Following graduation from Austin College in 1967 with a major in Chemistry, Richard entered Columbia University. There in 1972 he received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1972, followed by Post-Doctoral Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. In 1975, Richard entered the University of Texas at Houston School of Medicine’s three-year MD Program. Graduating in June 1978, he began his Medical Internship at U.S. Navy, Portsmouth Naval Hospital 1978-1979. He served as Medical Officer in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Mississippi, CGN 40 from 1979-1980. He completed his naval service as Medical Officer, U.S. Navy, Clinic Command, Naval Regional Medical Center in 1985.
Richard entered private practice in Norfolk, Virginia in 1985 after being Board Certified in Internal Medicine. He continued private practice as a General Internist at Diagnostic Clinic of Houston 1993-2006, then in solo private practice in Kerrville TX from 2006-2018. His clinical specialty was hypertension, and he also admitted that he had “a puppy love of cardiology.” The practice of medicine was his passion and his way to serve God’s call in his life.
Ordained as a Deacon and an Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) Richard’s faith in God was unshakable. Music was his spiritual language, and he enjoyed adding his mellow tenor voice to several church choirs. Richard sang hymns on his way to the office early each morning.
Richard was a member of Rotary International for decades, becoming a Paul Harris Fellow as he sought to live the Rotary Four Way Test. He was a member of the League of Women Voters-Hill Country Texas and active with the Guadalupe Gathering at Mo-Ranch.
Photography was Richard’s favorite hobby. He treasured his photography trips with his good friends in the Houston Inter-Loop Photography Club.
Richard’s infectious spirit and sharp wit were a joy to all who knew him, and he will be missed.
Richard married Nancy Everhart in May 1969.
Their children are Evan McCarroll Johnson and Meredith Gray Johnson Stuart.
Richard and Marguerite (Meg) D. Scott married in 2004. In 2006 they moved to Kerrville where Richard continued his private practice of medicine. With the realities of his Parkinson’s Disease setting in, Richard and Meg returned to Houston where they retired in 2021.
Richard is survived by his wife Marguerite (Meg) Scott-Johnson; his brother, Philip McCarroll Johnson (Lynn); and by children Evan Johnson (Lori), Meredith Stuart (Bradley), and Christine Gensch (Scott).
His beloved grandchildren are Richard Benjamin Johnson III, Andrew Longino Johnson, Claire Everhart Johnson, Persephone Gray Stuart, Brigid Violet Stuart, William Scott Gensch, and Calum Michael Gensch.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother James Noble Johnson.
A Celebration of Life will be at 1 p.m., on Sunday, June 1, at Mo-Ranch Chapel on the Hill followed by inurnment at Mo-Ranch Serenity Hill Columbarium, Rev. Dr. John Wurster officiating.
A Memorial Service will be at 11 a.m., on Tuesday, June 3, at St. Philip Presbyterian Church of Houston, Rev. Dr. John Wurster officiating. The service will be live-streamed and recorded on https://saintphilip.net.
In lieu of flowers, memorials or donations may be made to St. Philip Presbyterian Church of Houston, Houston Area Parkinson’s Society, Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, the First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville.
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