DR. WILLIAM R. JOHNSON, 69 Doctor at St. E's, chief deputy coroner

YOUNGSTOWN -- Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Friday in Third Baptist Church for Dr. William R. Johnson, 69, of 1353 Greenville Road, Bristolville, who died Saturday in St. Elizabeth Health Center.
Dr. Johnson was born Dec. 12, 1931, in Arnold, Pa., a son of James and Susan Tillman Johnson.
He graduated in 1957 from Pennsylvania State University, where he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, and graduated in 1961 from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, he was a member of the Undergraduate Research Institute and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical school honorary society.
An internal medicine specialist, Dr. Johnson served both his internship and residency at St. Elizabeth Health Center. He entered private practice and joined the hospital's clinical staff in 1965, and served at the hospital for more than 30 years in a variety of posts, including assistant director of its internal medicine department, clinical director of emergency medical services and educational director for internal medicine.
In 1966, he was appointed a deputy Mahoning County coroner and eight years later, chief deputy coroner. In 1970, he was appointed to the Mahoning County Mental Health and Retardation Board and served as chairman of its drug committee. In 1975, he was elected secretary-treasurer of the College of Science Alumni Society at Penn State. He served on the College of Science Board of Directors and on the advisory council for the Shenango Valley Penn State campus.
He was named chairman of the general medicine subcouncil of the Council of Chiefs of Internal Medicine for the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in 1976 and later went on to serve as assistant professor of internal medicine at NEOUCOM.
Dr. Johnson was medical director of the Danridge Nursing Home from its inception in 1969, and was appointed medical director of the Eastside Medical Center in 1984.
He was the first elected chairman of the Youngstown Leadership Conference, a group of black professionals and business people dedicated to solving problems in the black community.
He also served as medical adviser of the Youngstown Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation and was a member of the Buckeye Elks Lodge and the NAACP. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, he was a member of the American, Ohio, and Mahoning County medical associations before retiring in 1996.
He served in the Navy during the Korean War.
Besides his wife, the former Ethel Whitman, he leaves two daughters, Lisa of Pittsburgh and Denise of Willow Grove, Pa.; and a brother, James Jr. of Youngstown.
Arrangements are by Black & Phillips Funeral Home.
Contributions may be made to the William R. Johnson M.D. Memorial Fund, Penn State University, Eberly College of Science, 430 Thomas Bldg., University Park, Pa., 16802.
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