Joint Base Lewis-McChord has lost a familiar face dedicated to volunteerism and bringing joy.

On July 11, Jerry "J.W." Johnson, 66, passed away at his Lacey home surrounded by family and friends. Johnson spent 20 years in the Army, eventually retiring in south Puget Sound and taking a job with the Washington State Department of Corrections, but every other minute of free time he had was spent working to improve the lives of military members and their families.

"Our community has lost an incredible soldier," said Jodi Land, JBLM Fisher House manager. "Jerry was an amazing person; if he had 10 free minutes he would use it to make the life of a servicemember better."

For many years Johnson was a presence at the Fisher House, notably volunteering to play Santa for the families staying there over the holidays at the annual Christmas party as well as at the Christmas in July party. Of course, in addition to his role in the red suit, Johnson also volunteered to staff other Fisher House events and even made his own personal donations to the organization.

"You couldn't help but love Jerry. Jerry did so many incredible things but was always so humble and gracious," Land said. "I cannot get past how sad it is to lose him."

"My heart is heavy with sadness since he and I shared many hours together in support of JBLM activities," stated retired Command Sgt. Maj. Herb Schmeling.

"J.W. was a ‘volunteer's volunteer.' He was the epitome of community involvement. To me, J.W. was Santa Claus ... however I don't just mean the role he played during the holiday season. To me, he lived the part 24 hours a day, 365 days a year as no matter what the season or event, he was there to bring assistance to others and offer a helping hand."

Johnson was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Thurston County Veterans Council, American Legion Riders and the Association of the United States Army. He also spent time volunteering and fundraising for the Boy Scouts of America and USO Northwest, specifically the Shali Center on JBLM.

"Over a year ago, he called me out of the blue because a group he was associated with had a check for the USO," shared Andrew Oczkewicz, JBLM USO Shali Center manager. "I went to his house to pick it up and he asked what else we needed. I told him our vacuum had just broken...within four hours he called me back and gave us a commercial-grade vacuum that we still use to this day. In just four hours ... he was amazing."

For Alex Silva, Retirement Services Officer (RSO) at JBLM, Johnson was not only an outstanding volunteer, but also a close friend.

"I was stationed with Jerry close to four decades ago in Germany and we stayed friends all these years because that's the kind of guy he was," Silva said. "And he always gave back. He made the other volunteers feel better about volunteering, which is tough to do. He will be missed by everyone."

Services with full military honors for Johnson will be held at 11 a.m. July 18 at Tahoma National Cemetery and will be officiated by Chaplain RD Norleen from the Department of Washington District 5, VFW. There will also be a reception at the conclusion of the services.

In lieu of flowers, donations and contributions can be made to the Tumwater VFW Post 7089, marked ‘in memory of J.W. Johnson.' Checks can be mailed to 7828 13th Way NE, Olympia, WA 98516.