In The Annals Of Education, A Modest Giant!

Anyone who was associated in any way with the Camden Public School system from about 1960 onward is likely to remember Ted Johnson.
He was an extraordinary teacher, educator, administrator, scholar and role model.
Dr. Theodore B. Johnson Sr. was also one of the early African-American educators of note in the City of Camden. He was a consummate professional: impeccable in every sense of the word; fair, through and scrupulously honest; attentive to every detail; articulate, considerate and exceptionally kind. When he walked into a room, you knew that an extraordinary person had arrived on the scene.
Ted Johnson was also my junior high school homeroom teacher and later the assistant superintendent who I reported to when I was a fifth grade teacher at the Ulysses Wiggins School in South Camden. I revered this man. Still later, he served as superintendent of the Pennsauken Public Schools.
Was I as good a teacher as Ted Johnson was? No, not even close. But I gave it my best shot.
Years later, when I was teaching at Rowan University, Dr. Johnson was speaking to a group just off the main lobby of the student center as I was passing through. I stood by the doorway and quietly watched and listened. And it all came back to me.
Now an administrator and seasoned pro, he was sharing his insight with others. And, he still had it. The same bearing, the same generosity, the same ability to command attention and respect was still there.
Dr. Theodore B. Johnson Sr. was a genuine trailblazer. But he did it all with a naturalness and a modesty that belied the impact he was having in so many ways on so many people and on so many institutions. And that made it all that much sweeter. RIP.
Dr. Theodore B. Johnson, Sr., 84, of Pennsauken, NJ, passed June 21, 2018. A viewing will be held Wed. 3-8PM at
Mt.Zion UM Church, 134 N. White Horse Pike, Lawnside. Service will be held 11AM Thursday at the church where a viewing will begin at 9AM. Interment: Church Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to Mt. Zion UMC Mentor Ministry, c/o Mt. Zion UM Church. Arr: Carl Miller Funeral Home, Camden.