I was very sorry to hear of Jerry's passing.  He was a kind, soft-spoken person, but he was also an invaluable source of information on California indigenous history and culture.  He will be missed greatly.

I was an anthropology laboratory teaching assistant for Dr. Johnson around 1988/1989 time frame at CSU Sacramento.  I spent many hours just talking with him.  He allowed me to give lectures, even though I was a business student - much to the chagrin of all the other hardcore anthropology majored teaching assistants.  But they never asked.   

What I remember most about him is how real he was.  There wasn't the faintest bit of intellectual elitism in this man.  He talked to me as if we were at the same level, and he enjoyed a good laugh as well.  I don't think I ever saw him not smiling. He was just a very happy, very personable, and very down to earth person.  I did not find out until later the world class recognition he had in some areas related to Ishi and Native American archaeology.  He was just too humble to bring it up.  

One story I remember is his doctoral dissertation at UC Davis.  He said it got to be over 600 pages and it looked like it would never end.  The dissertation committee apparently agreed and put a bow on his dissertation when it wasn't completed, because he had already contributed enough with his "partial" dissertation.   I also remember he used to speculate on evidence for and against the existence of Big Foot.  

I don't know what prompted me to look him up again, but I'm said to see that he's now gone.

So sorry to hear of the recent passing of Prof. Jerry Johnson, who I had the privilege of knowing  since around 2012, when he came to see the remnants of Nisenan Maidu occupation on my Newcastle property.  I learned much about that culture for him.  He was the foremost authority on the native American history of this area.  

You are and will be so very missed. You were a wonderful mentor & friend with a brilliant capacity for listening, and a retention for history envied by many students. 

Chapel of the Hills

Jerald Johnson

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Jerald Jay Johnson

September 13, 1940 – October 5, 2022

Chapel of the Hills

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