In Memoriam: Paul Johnson
Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity is saddened by the passing of Paul Johnson, who served as the affiliate's executive director from 1997 until his retirement in 2014.
“His legacy to this community includes working with community leaders, volunteers, and donors who built and funded our first 150 homes and who came together deciding to take the 'risk' to open the ReStore on 411 S. Wahsatch," says CEO Kris Lewis. "Because of that 'risk,' more families have been served than initially possible.”
Paul Johnson graces the cover of Habitat World magazine.
Paul Johnson dedicates his 100th (and Pikes Peak Habitat's 125th) home.
During Johnson's 17-year tenure, he spearheaded the development of two neighborhood communities -- Woodmen Vistas in Colorado Springs, where Pikes Peak Habitat built 37 homes, and Country Living in Fountain, with 34.
“We had a humble beginning," Johnson recalled in 2014. "I was the first paid staff with an office in a condo (which later became a home for a family). We had very little money and had weekly finance meetings to determine what building materials we could purchase for the next week.”
Pikes Peak Habitat opened in 1986 and had built 25 houses when Johnson assumed leadership. The spring he retired, the affiliate dedicated its 125th -- and Johnson's 100th -- home.
Tim Trowbridge, a current board member and former board president, first met Johnson in 2001 when Trowbridge delivered checks to Pikes Peak Habitat from employees at his company.
"Every time I met him I would learn a little bit more about Habitat, and at some point in the conversation, he invited me to come to a board meeting," Trowbridge recalls. "When I started, there were three and a half staff people, so it was Paul and his executive assistant, who was also his grant writer; a construction superintendent; and then a half-time bookkeeper. And the offices they had were in an old Victorian house downtown, the upstairs couple of bedrooms that had been renovated into offices."
Not only did the affiliate expand its staff and the number of families served under Johnson's leadership, but the ReStore that he helped launch celebrated its 20th anniversary in January. Proceeds from that store, along with a second Pikes Peak Habitat ReStore -- which opened at 6250 Tutt Blvd., Colorado Springs, 80923, in 2022 -- have contributed to the construction of 128 homes in El Paso County.
Pikes Peak Habitat, and the many El Paso County families who are living in homes of their own thanks to Johnson's enthusiasm and dedication, are grateful for his legacy.
Please join us in remembering and celebrating Paul Johnson.
Read Seventeen Years of Leadership (PDF), the Pikes Peak Habitat newsletter story about Johnson's retirement in 2014
Guestbook
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Paul Johnson, center, celebrates the ReStore's 10th anniversary with Board Member Laurel Thorstensen, left, and Store Manager John Veteto.
Memories
After the first few minutes of meeting Paul (about 20 years ago), I knew that he was one of the finest, most humble and dedicated persons I would ever meet. What he accomplished, working tirelessly with an office staff of only 2 or 3 people, can never be underestimated. In the true spirit of Habitat for Humanity, he blessed everyone whose lives he touched. Thank you, Paul, and thank you, God, for giving him to us!
-Barbara Treacy