Christopher Day Johnson

Raised in Georgia and Detroit, he was Princeton ’74, where he excelled on its Division I football team and was graduated magna cum laude, and was graduated in ’77, with Order of the Coif honors, from The University of Virginia School of Law, where he was also a member of the Editorial Board of the Law Review.

Upon graduation from UVA Law, he struck out for Phoenix, where he first became a partner at Streich Lang, and then for the past 20 years practiced at Squire Sanders, now Squire Patton Boggs, where he honed his enviable reputation as one of the finest corporate attorneys in the country.  The scope of his practice was broad - sophisticated general corporate, securities and governance matters, as well as high-end U.S. reorganization matters.

CJ was not only a super lawyer and a solid citizen, but he was also wonderful company and always with a twinkle in his eye.  He enjoyed the Arizona Cardinals, rock ‘n’ roll music, golf, the beach, the mountains, great humor (both giving and getting), a superb cocktail on occasion and was generally known as an expert in reciting Monty Python scripts.

His wife, children, family, friends and professional colleagues mourn his passing and will keenly miss his extraordinary presence.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Christine, and their daughter Samantha, as well as two children from a previous marriage, Dustin and Abigail; he was incredibly proud of his three children.

He is also survived by two brothers - David, of Georgia, and Mark, of South Carolina – and by his niece, Emily, and his nephew, Matthew.

He was predeceased by his parents, Norman and Bernadette, his brothers Michael and Matthew, and his nephew, Peter.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, March 17th from 5 – 9 pm at Thompson Funeral Chapel, 926 South Litchfield Road, Goodyear, AZ.

There will be a Mass celebrating his life at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church at 13720 West Thomas Road, Avondale, AZ, on Friday, March 18th at 1 pm, followed by a Memorial and reception at the Verrado Golf Club, 4242 North Golf Drive, Buckeye, AZ.  Burial services will be private in Coronado, CA, following.

The family asks that contributions, in lieu of flowers, be made to the Christopher Johnson Memorial Fund at the Trivium Preparatory Academy in Goodyear, AZ.