William L. Johnson ’50

Bill died Feb. 12, 2010, in Easton, Md.

He graduated from Horace Mann School in New York City. At Princeton he swam varsity, managed The Daily Princetonian office, and belonged to Charter. He graduated with high honors in history. His father was in the Class of 1922.

After graduation, Bill served with the Marines in Korea, attaining the rank of captain. While attending Columbia Law School in 1952 he married Marjory Bruce Hughes, a granddaughter of the late Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes. He graduated from Columbia in 1955.

Bill began his career with a law firm, but then worked in the legal department at Otis Elevator Co. for over 15 years. As general counsel of Otis, he led the heated but unsuccessful battle in a landmark case against United Technologies’ 1975 hostile tender offer.

Bill lived for more than 30 years in Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y., where he was active in the community, serving several terms as village trustee. After retiring and moving to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, he built colonial furniture, enjoyed his grandchildren, and became a dedicated genealogist, tracing more than 50 ancestors who fought in the American Revolution.

Our condolences go to Bill’s wife, Brucie; three daughters, Susan, Wendy ’77, and Molly; and eight grandchildren.