March 2012
Charles “Phil” Johnson, L3221, who served as FMCA’s sixth national president from 1974 to 1977, passed away on December 20, 2011, at his home in Darien, Wisconsin. He was 89.
Phil was born May 9, 1922, in Darien and graduated from Darien High School in 1940. He served in the United States Air Force as a ball turret gunner on a B-24 during World War II. During a weeklong furlough from training in Texas, he returned home to Darien. Upon arrival, he asked his sweetheart, Frances Huber, whom he’d known since kindergarten, to marry him. They tied the knot later that week on June 17, 1944.
Once Phil completed his military obligation, he went on to earn degrees from the University of Wisconsin in 1947 and the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1949. Phil owned and operated Johnson Farms, a dairy operation built by his father and grandfather. The farm became one of the largest milk farms in Wisconsin, and Phil is credited with being the first in the state to set up a milking parlor where 500 cows could be milked at one time. Phil was a member of the National Farm Organization and the Walworth County Farm Bureau. He also was a former partner and owner of Darien Hardware and Johnson and Danielson Insurance Agency. He was a past president of the Wisconsin Vocational and Technical Education Association, former member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Board of Regents, and was an active member of the Wisconsin Technical College System Foundation board since its creation in 1977.
The Johnsons were introduced to FMCA by close friends George and Mary Gene Alder, L811. Every year the two families — each with five kids — traveled to Panama City Beach, Florida, for Easter break. The Johnsons camped in a pop-up trailer; the Alders in a Travco motorhome. Finally, in 1969, George convinced Phil that motorhoming was the only way to go, so Phil went to Milwaukee and purchased what would be the Johnsons’ only motorhome, a Winnebago they dubbed the “Cracker Box.” A couple months later at FMCA’s sixth annual convention in Traverse City, Michigan, they joined FMCA.
The Johnsons became members of the Badger chapter, which was the host chapter for the 1971 summer convention in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Phil and Paul Birkle, F1707, were selected to be co-chairmen of the convention. Later that year, Phil was voted in as president of the Badger chapter and served in that capacity until being elected FMCA national vice president in July 1972. He remained in that position until 1974 when he was elected national president at FMCA’s 11th annual summer international convention in Du Quoin, Illinois. He also served two terms on the FMCA President’s Council (1978-79 – chairman; 1982-83); was chairman of the Nominating Committee (1979-80); was a member of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee (1990-92 – chairman; 1996-97); and was the association’s parliamentary law adviser (1990-92).
Phil became president during the energy crisis that followed the OPEC oil embargo of 1973, during which time gasoline prices had spiked and fuel availability was limited. This posed a challenge for motorhome owners, but his wife, Fran, said no one at the time thought it would cripple FMCA. “We were so optimistic back then,” she said. “Even with high gas prices and shortages, we never thought it was so bad that people would stop traveling. We felt that FMCA was such a great organization that gas prices wouldn’t get so expensive that it would stop people from going to conventions and rallies.”
And they didn’t. FMCA showed remarkable growth during this period of uncertainty. From the beginning of 1974 until the end of 1977, FMCA assigned more than 16,000 new family membership numbers, beginning with F11934 and ending with F28284. FMCA held its first winter international convention in Harlingen, Texas, in March 1976, giving members who may not have been able to attend a summer convention the chance to see what they were missing. It also was during Phil’s presidency that FMCA was able to raise the necessary funds — including $200,000 over a three-day period at the 13th annual summer convention in Centreville, Michigan — to purchase the property at 8291 Clough Pike in Cincinnati, Ohio. This location continues to serve as the association’s headquarters. FMCA had the grand opening for its new home in May of 1977, just a couple of months before Phil’s term was completed.
Besides being members of the Badger chapter, Phil, along with George Alder and Jack Mork, started the Over The Hill chapter for folks who enjoyed snowmobiling and motorcycle riding. The Johnsons also became members of the Revconeers chapter, even though they never owned one of these vintage motorhomes. “When Phil was president, he was present to give them their charter,” Fran said. “We never owned a Revcon, but we liked the people in the chapter.”
After the Johnson and Alder children were grown and on their own, the couples decided that traveling in two motorhomes to the same place made no sense, so they began making their trips together in the Alders’ larger motorhome. “We went with the Alders everywhere,” Fran said. “It was so much fun.”
Phil is survived by Fran; sons Phil (Kathy), Jay, and Craig (Robin); daughters Jennifer Ludowise and Kristi (Steve) Mealey; a sister, Betsy Peavy; 11 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. Memorials in Phil’s name can be made to the Wisconsin Technical College System Foundation Inc., 1 Foundation Circle, Waunakee, WI 53597.