The City of Brooksville as well as Hernando County at large lost an upstanding citizen and public servant on July 5th 2015. Brooksville Vice Mayor Joe Johnston III passed away after a long battle with cancer. From 1993 to 2006, he served as council member, Vice Mayor, as well as Mayor. He took a 2 year hiatus and served on the council again from 2008 to the present time.
Many friends from his youth remember him as “Tiger.” Cindy Griffin who babysat for his younger brother Darryl recalls, “As a young teen he lived in my neighborhood on Highland Street. Later, when his family moved to [their] Mt. Fair Avenue home, “Tiger” as he was called then, his 2 brothers joined the family. I… remember helping Tiger roll newspapers into logs for the fireplace. This was a chore he did not like. He had a kind spirit as a young teenager.” Mr. Johnston graduated from Hernando High School in 1970. Classmates remembered him as a strong student with a great sense of humor.
After high school he attended the University of Pennsylvania and University of Florida.
He spent 35 years as a Paralegal with Johnston & Sasser, P.A. In addition to his positions held on the Brooksville City Council, he was a member and past President of the Brooksville Kiwanis Club and member of Masonic Lodge No.97.
Joe Johnston loved Brooksville and the people who live here. Jan Knowles, another upstanding member of the community and “2014 Great Brooksvillian” describes his amiable manner and his genuine care for his community. “I worked with Joe on several committees. I will always remember the Mother’s Day Tea at the Heritage Museum where he would wear his top hat and help all of our guests up the steps and visit with all of them. We shared the same Historic interests as well as our community involvement.”
It is evident that Joe Johnston was able to achieve a balance between the important positions he held and the lighter side of life. He was a Certified Master BBQ Judge with the Florida BBQ Association as well as Certified Beer Judge. He enjoyed bowling with his wife Diana as well as theater. Joseph and Diana were two of the founding members of the Community Theatre Group, Act I, in the 1970’s. Joe and his family enjoyed white water rafting and horseback riding. He and Diana learned to sail in Maine and purchased a sailboat and named it “Lady Di.” The family spent many happy days sailing together.
Councilmember Natalie Kahler made a moving invocation prior to the Brooksville City Council Meeting on July 7th. “Lord we come to you tonight, as the source of all comfort. We thank you that you are not just able Lord, but willing to comfort any who come to you. Oh Lord we ask on behalf of Joe’s family who was our colleague but also our friend, Lord that you would comfort them in their grief. Lord we thank you for the life that he lived, the example that he set to every single one of us, and we ask that we would honor him by living our lives in the same wonderful way. We thank you Lord in Jesus’s name. Amen.”
Councilmember Battista reminisced about his longtime friendship with Johnston. “I first met Joe in 1995, when I became the City Attorney. He’d been on the council I think a year plus at that particular point in time. I also worked at the Johnston and Sasser Law Firm at that time while I was the city attorney. My office was squeezed in between his father Joe Johnston Jr. and Joe. So we had quite a number of times to get to know each other over the years… I’ve lost someone who I consider to be quite a friend. Somebody who’s going to be definitely missed by this council and personally.”
Mayor Frankie Burnett exemplified his ability to solve difficult situations. “One thing that always stood out with our Vice Mayor is he was always that person that would come up with a compromise. He could see where the Council had a division and he would come up with something that everyone would agree upon. And most of the times he did not leave it up to staff to put it in writing. He would actually come with it already written down to show and to share. We are certainly going to miss him. He was a great man and he cared for this city. And it showed for the number of years he served as a council member as Vice Mayor and Mayor on several different occasions. We will certainly miss him.”
Joe Johnston III was laid to rest in the Brooksville Cemetery, close to his parents Marilyn Johnston and Joseph E. Johnston, Jr. He was 63 years old.