William Henry Johnson, Jr., MD

William Henry Johnson Jr., MD, an Internist and Hospice Medical Director who served patients across Contra Costa and Alameda counties, passed away on January 13, 2024, at John Muir Health in Walnut Creek, CA, after a 13 year battle with cancer. He was 69. Dr. Johnson -- known as Bill to his friends and family -- met his wife of 43 years, Gretchen Graves, MD, when they were classmates at Howard Medical School in Washington, DC. The pair moved to California together for residency after graduation in 1980, and they were married within a year. Together, the newlyweds went into private practice – opening a medical office in Pittsburg, CA, in 1983. They settled down in Pleasant Hill, where they raised their two daughters, Erica and Adrienne, and still lived at the time of Dr. Johnson’s death. Bill grew up in a home that prioritized education. He was born in Okmulgee, OK, in 1954 to Lucile Holmes Johnson, a registered nurse, and William Henry Johnson Sr., a Spanish teacher and custodian. Both were graduates of the historic Tuskegee University. After his birth, the family moved to Denver, CO, where his three sisters soon followed: Dr. Sandra Harris Howard, Anita King, and Deanna Butler. Both Lucile and William Sr. were gifted musicians, often providing musical direction and programs for Denver-area churches, and all four children developed an early love of music. Throughout his life, Bill was a multi-instrumentalist with a knack for the piano, guitar, and percussion. But his first love was the trumpet. In his youth, he played the trumpet for Zion Baptist Church, the Denver Junior Police Marching Band, and Lincoln High School. Upon graduating, he attended Stanford University and played for the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band, where he largely credits his classmates with introducing him to a lifelong passion: jazz music. Bill was also an avid skier. At 14, he received a scholarship to join the youth program of the US Army 10th Mountain Division in Colorado, where he was outfitted with ski gear and taught skiing, mountaineering, and snow wilderness survival. The 10th Mountain Division were elite skiers that fought alpine battles during WWII, and their veterans were instrumental in establishing ski clubs and developing ski trails after the war. During the summers, young Bill worked cutting ski trails at notable Colorado ski resorts Keystone and Vail to earn money to buy equipment. Over time, he achieved expert skiing status, and shared this other lifelong love with his family. Dr. Johnson applied that same passion, dedication, and commitment to learning to his career. At Stanford, he received a BS in Biology and graduated from Howard University College of Medicine in 1980. After returning to California, he completed his internal medicine residency at the U.C. Davis Martinez Veterans Administration. At the time, his new wife was completing her pediatric residency, also with U.C. Davis, in Sacramento. Both having received National Health Service Corps scholarships, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Graves made a joint decision to start their own practices in Pittsburg, CA, a priority location for increasing community healthcare access. Alongside his growing office practice, Dr. Johnson served patients in various capacities across the entire SF Bay Area. He attended hospital and nursing home inpatients, provided surgical assistance, emergency department assessments and worked in urgent care and public health clinics. In later years, he specialized in hospice care, becoming certified as a Hospice Medical Director. He worked for over a decade at Vitas Healthcare as a Team Hospice and Palliative Care Physician. There, he formed a relationship with the California Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association and regularly presented Continuing Medical Education lectures. After retiring from private practice and hospice care, Dr. Johnson used his medical expertise to serve as a senior consultant to the YMCA of the North's Equity Innovation Center team (in Minneapolis) addressing sustainable change in healthcare and other racial and culturally inequitable delivery systems. In addition to his service as a physician, Dr. Johnson was dedicated to giving back to his community. He was a district representative of the Alameda Contra Costa Medical Association, and a member of the National Medical Association and Sinkler Miller Medical Association. Most notably, he was a member of the Diablo Black Men's Group (DBMG), an organization dedicated to providing scholarships and mentorship to collegebound Black students in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. He worked tirelessly, even while undergoing strenuous cancer treatments in his last year of life, to learn and apply nonprofit management skills to aid DBMG’s mission. Bill loved life, believed in living fully, and had a tenacious spirit. He was a naturally gifted athlete, and played nearly every sport over the years: track and field, skiing, mountain climbing, sailing, windsurfing, basketball, cycling, tennis, soccer, and golf. He shared this love of athletics with his daughters, and volunteered as a coach and referee for their youth teams. He was a very curious person and lifelong learner, reading everything he could get his hands on, from science fiction books to electronics magazines to librettos for his favorite musicals. He spent more hours than anyone can count enjoying films at local movie theaters and eating Denver omelets at every diner in a 10-mile radius. But above all, he loved fast cars, and could often be heard (before seen) coming around the corner in his bright red Porsche. Bill was a good friend to all, an incredible advocate, and showed his love by always going the extra mile for friends and family. Along with his wife, daughters, and sisters, Dr. Johnson is survived by his aunts Florene Holland, Loyce Martin, and Dianne Pennington, his uncle James Holmes, his brother-in-law Ernest Howard, and his sons-in-law Victor Noskov and Nishant Bhansali, and several cousins, nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank the many people who have expressed their love, prayers, and condolences during this difficult time. Please consider making a donation or participating in the activities of the organizations below in honor of Dr. Johnson: Diablo Black Men’s Group (DBMG) www.dbmg.org/donateJohn Muir Cancer Services www.johnmuirhealth.com/giving/gift-opportunities/cancer-services