IN MEMORIAM: Millard W. Johnson Jr.
professor emeritus of engineering mechanics and mathematics, Millard W. Johnson Jr. died February 20, 2009. He graduated from Racine Horlick High School as valedictorian of his class and served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1948. After an honorable discharge, he began his undergraduate education at Carlton College, Northfield, Minnesota, and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1952 from UW-Madison in applied mathematics and mechanics.
Johnson earned a PhD in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1957. He returned to UW-Madison as a faculty member and spent his career at the university. He was an expert in continuum mechanics, viscoelasticity, lubrication, theory of thin bodies, and the mechanics of paper. Known for his expectations of excellence from his students, Johnson also took great pride in their achievements and career accomplishments.
Johnson is survived by his wife of 55 years, Ruth Pugh Gifford Johnson, four children, seven grandchildren, and many other relatives and friends.
Direct memorial gifts to the Millard W. Johnson Jr. Scholarship Fund through the secure link at www.engr.wisc.edu/ep/giving or mail a check (note fund #12636553) to the University of Wisconsin Foundation, U.S. Bank Lockbox, P.O. Box 78807, Milwaukee, WI 53278-0807.
A complete obituary can be found here: www.cressfuneralservice.com/a-life-remembered/914.
