John Harold Johnston

Colonel John H. Johnston, USAF, Ret, passed away October 26th in Raleigh, NC. Col. Johnston was born in Greenville, SC in 1945 and was the son of the late Waddy Harold and Nelle Ellison Johnston. He attended Greenville public schools. He graduated from Clemson University in 1967 and immediately entered active duty in the USAF after receiving a commission as a 2dLt through the ROTC program. He remained on active duty until 1992 and served in a variety of command and senior staff assignments including two tours of duty in the Pentagon where he held significant roles in managing the Air Force’s manpower budget and the allocation of resources to major commanders. He also served as the Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. He earned an MBA from Central Michigan University in 1978.

Following his military career, Col. Johnston worked as a productivity consultant in the health care industry, providing assistance to large acute care hospitals and clinics. Never one to sit still for very long, he followed his years in healthcare with a role as a business consultant working with a global consulting firm doing large scale information systems outsourcing. He continued in this role until his retirement in 2007.

In retirement, Col. Johnston and his wife, Kathy, traveled, played golf and generally enjoyed the fruits of their years of labor. He was a person of many interests, launching into an extensive study of the inner workings of the Confederate government and the Confederate Navy. The latter was a difficult quest as a significant portion of the documentation pertaining to the “Brown Water” Navy did not survive the war. He was also a talented musician, playing both piano and guitar, both of which he enjoyed immensely. Like everything else in his life, his taste in music was broadly varied. He was equally at home with classical, recognizable standards, or pop on the piano and was a devotee of blues and jazz on the guitar.

Col. Johnston is survived by his wife of 48 years, Kathy, son Steve (wife Tara, children Colin and Scarlett) of Boston, MA, son David (wife Karen, children Ella Grey and Ethan) of Raleigh, NC, and brother Heyward (wife Debbie) of Greenville, SC.

A private service will be held in Col. Johnston's honor. In lieu of flowers, his family requests memorial donations be made to a no-kill cat shelter of your choice (such as Safe Haven for Cats, 8431 Garvey Drive #137, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27616).