TSC Postal Clerk Remembered as Cherished Member of USU Community

The Student Life section of Utah State Today highlights work written by the talented student journalists at Utah State University. Each week, the editor selects a story that has been published in The Utah Statesman or the Hard News Café or both for inclusion in Utah State Today.

By Shanie Howard, USU Statesman, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017

A hole was left in the Aggie community on Dec. 11 when longtime Utah State University employee Kevin Johnson, 62, passed away.

Johnson was diagnosed in with Stage IV cancer in October, but continued his work as a postal clerk in the Taggart Student Center despite the illness.

“He never called a sick day in his life,” said Allen Wolcott, who worked alongside Johnson for 16 years. “Maybe that’s why the doctor never pinpointed it quickly enough.”

Johnson worked in the Utah State library’s special collections and archives for 20 years before he became a postal clerk.

During his life Johnson lived by the motto, “There are people you love, and people that you don’t know.”

Wolcott said during their time together he watched Johnson touch the lives of hundreds of people by simply taking the time to listen.

“He connected with people that needed connecting to,” Wolcott said. “He knew how to listen and lift people’s trials and burdens.”

Johnson was born in Logan but later moved to Hyde Park, where he lived with his wife Betty and they raised their four children. Johnson enjoyed spending time with his family and had a passion for cooking and gardening.

Johnson was known as a public servant in his community in many ways, including sitting as a judge at the Hyde Park booth at the Cache County fair and float-building for the community Pioneer Day celebration.

“He loved this job and he loved the people, and the people loved him,” Wolcott said. “He is going to be missed by a lot of people.”