Memorial for Virgil Evans Johnson Jr.

February 26, 1927-July 1, 2020

Dr. Virgil Evans Johnson, Jr. was born in his home in Tampa, Florida on February 26, 1927, to Opal Harper Johnson and Virgil Evans Johnson. He died peacefully with his family on July 1, 2020 in his home in Alexandria, Virginia. He passed away at the height of the COVID 19 pandemic due to complications resulting from a fall. He was 93 years old and was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Frances Kinard Johnson of Atlanta, Georgia; his brother Hugh Johnson of Vero Beach, Florida and sister, Dorothy Suber of Mobile, Alabama.

“Jack” and “Nank” had three daughters including their loving husbands, Cindy Latimer of Vienna, Virginia, and her husband Randy Latimer; Dr. Lynn Johnson Langer, of Annapolis, Maryland and her husband Eric Langer and Shirley J. Brott of Alexandria, Virginia. He had eight grandchildren, Tracey Chenault of Dolphin, Virginia, Jacqui Jeffrey of Boardman, Ohio, Benjamin Kemp of Valley Forge Pa, Adam Kemp of Princeton NJ; Julia Langer of Grenoble France; Fred Brott of Castro Valley Ca; Dr. Laura Lee Brott of Long Beach, Ca and Lilly Brott of Bel Air Maryland.  He had seven great- grandchildren: Rian Williams, Jack Craft , Patti Jeffrey, Cameron Jeffrey, Corwen Kemp, Sam Kemp and Noah Kemp.

 “Grandad” grew up during the heart of the depression. Despite his circumstances, he thrived in school, having skipped first grade. He graduated high school at age 16 and started college at Georgia Tech. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the Navy at the end of World War II and served on the USS Alabama. With the help of the GI Bill, he continued at Georgia Tech where he graduated as an electrical engineer. He worked at the Corp of Engineers in Vicksburg Mississippi where his first daughter Cindy was born. Being in the Army Reserves soon thereafter, he was called to Korea, where he was promoted to Captain at age 22 and led a full platoon in charge of rebuilding bridges and infrastructure. When Grandad returned the family moved to Boston, Massachusetts where Lynn was born.  Here, he received his Masters in Science Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Again moving, in 1957 Grandad worked as a mathematician at Langley NACA (now NASA) in Hampton, VA where his youngest daughter, Shirley, was born. At NACA he was instrumental in the mathematical computations for the trajectory of the space capsules orbiting the Earth.

In 1960 he moved to 24011 Woodfield Road in Damascus, Maryland, where he called home for 50 years. It was here Grandad started up a successful, privately owned company, Hydronautics, Inc. where he worked as Chief Scientist, Mathematician and Chief Engineer and was ultimately President and CEO. “Hydro” was acclaimed as owning the largest privately owned naval basin on the east coast.  Naval propellers were tested in the basin as well as in the massive wave testing tanks. One of Grandad’s many accomplishments is his expanded concept of cavitation. (He later became known as The Father of Cavitation). He was able to visualize cavitation by capturing the image through high speed film photography. This discovery led to the foundation of high-speed water propulsion then solely used for Navy and rescue boats. With this technology, he became the primary patent holder of the Surface Effect Ship, now known as the hydrofoil. He held many additional patents in the field of hydrodynamics.  At the age of 60, Grandad completed his PhD in Fluid Dynamics from Johns Hopkins University.

Grandad loved the water. He swam with precision and enjoyed snorkeling and the occasional scuba diving. Mostly he loved playing in the water with his children and grandchildren. He was a cheerful southern gentleman with a deep resonating voice. His voice would ring every Christmas with “Deck the halls” or at night with an evening lullaby.

We all miss you, Grandad. We are forever grateful to you for sharing your gift of bringing your bright side of life into ours.

We miss you, Dad. Always.