Geneva man remembered as city's 'champion'

Weldon Johnson believed in supporting Geneva through his business and as a volunteer.

He elicited smiles for years as he walked the Swedish Days parade in his Viking get-up, including a horned hat. He was one of the first to participate in the "Dancing With the Geneva Stars" fundraiser for the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission. And at 9 p.m. the day before school started in the fall, you could find him at his store, Viking Office Supply, helping panicked parents find that one last protractor or pencil sharpener their child needed for school.

Johnson, 75, died early Tuesday.

"Weldon's contributions to Geneva were legendary," Mayor Kevin Burns said. He noted that Johnson was a proud alumnus of Geneva High School and called him "a champion of all things Geneva."

"Weldon was Geneva, and Geneva is a better place because of his selfless commitment and passion," Burns said.

Johnson opened the office-supplies store in 1977, moving it to 124 W. State St. in 1982. He ran it with his late wife, Fran, and daughter, Anne Shaw. It closed in 2007.

Before the store, he sold pharmaceuticals. He had also been chief deputy clerk of the circuit court in the 1970s. With his wife, he helped run the St. Peter Barn Sale to raise money for St. Peter Catholic Church. In 1991, the Geneva Chamber of Commerce gave him the annual Wood Community Service Award.

Johnson also served as an alderman.

"I always looked forward to going to work, and I loved seeing people and helping people," Johnson said in a 2007 interview with Daily Herald columnist Dave Heun. "It's been a blast, being part of Swedish Days and the Christmas Walk; it's just all been good memories."

Funeral arrangements and obituary information are pending.