Acknowledging his many contributions to the legal profession and more than 70 years of support to the DePaul University College of Law, DePaul recently awarded New York attorney Jerome “Jerry” Johnson a posthumous honorary degree. A 1936 graduate of the College of Law, Johnson was an unyielding supporter of the law school until his death in July 2007. Johnson’s family accepted the doctor of humane letters degree on Johnson’s behalf at the College of Law’s 110th commencement ceremony held last month at the Civil Opera House in Chicago.
After graduating from the College of Law, Johnson practiced in Chicago for a brief time before moving to Rockland County, New York, where he established a successful legal practice. However, he maintained a special connection to DePaul. That link between Johnson and DePaul was initially forged when finances threatened to derail Johnson’s legal education during his second year of law school. He was awarded a special dean’s scholarship so that he would not have to abandon his studies, and Johnson expressed his debt of gratitude to the law school with action.
In addition to serving many years on the dean’s advisory board, Johnson established a special scholarship to help DePaul law students who found themselves short of money to continue their education. “Jerry wanted to offer a resource to law students at DePaul in need of financial assistance, so he established the Lee Shaffron Johnson Scholarship in 1985,” said Glen Weissenberger, dean of the College of Law. “Named for his wife, the scholarship has helped needy students in much the same way that the dean’s scholarship helped Jerry when he faced financial difficulties, which was what Jerry said he intended when he created the award.”
Born in Chicago on July 3, 1912, Johnson served as a liutenant in the United States Navy during World War II. In 1957 he moved his family to Rockland County, were he practiced law well into his 90s and became extensively involved in community service along with his wife.
Johnson served as a trustee of Nyack Hospital in Nyack, N.Y., for more than 20 years, six of them as president of the board. He also served on the board and as president of the Rockland County Day School. In 1971, he was elected president of the Rockland County Bar Association and served on its Character and Fitness Committee for many years.
In 2004, the College of Law recognized Johnson’s longstanding commitment and dedication to helping DePaul law students by awarding him its Outstanding Service Award, which honors extraordinary service to the law school by alumni.
In bestowing Johnson with an honorary degree, the College of Law highlighted his exemplary life in the law, his military service, volunteer legal advocacy and community service. His most enduring legacy, however, is the gift of education that his scholarships provided. According to the citation that accompanied his honorary degree, those gifts “helped launch the careers of hundreds of dedicated professionals, multiplying the good for which Johnson stood.”
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