William A. “Bill” Johnson, 79, of Washington passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 24, 2024 as a result of complications of Parkinson’s Disease.  Bill was born September 1, 1944 in Pittsburgh, PA, a son of the late Alfred R. and Jessie Wheatley Johnson.  Surviving is his wife of seventeen years, Sue Johnson of Washington; two daughters, Kristin Hart of Hanover, PA and Kelly (Scott) Harrison of Princeton, NJ; a stepson, Jason (Stephanie) Kint of Canonsburg; a stepdaughter, Rachel (Ben) Buchanan of Monongahela; a brother, Albert (Mary Beth) Johnson of Pittsburgh and seven grandchildren, Bryce Hart, Evan Hart, Graham Harrison, Fletcher Harrison, Aubree Buchanan, Ava Buchanan, and Lennon Kayda-Kint.  Also surviving is his former wife, Janet Johnson, of Hanover, PA.  In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son-in-law, David Hart.

Bill was a 1962 graduate of Peters Twp. High School.  He went on to study at Washington & Jefferson College, where he won both the Walter Hudson Baker and Maurice Cleveland Waltersdorf prizes for excellence in the study of economics.  He also played center field on the college baseball team but not with the same level of success. 

Bill attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and was awarded the top prize in the study of conflicts of laws.  Prior to graduation, he was approached by recruiters from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and agreed to go into special agent training at Quantico, VA.  Serving as a Special Agent for the FBI was grueling and demanded his full efforts as he worked on fugitive apprehension, bank robberies and organized crime.

Soon after becoming a father, he chose to leave the Bureau to settle closer to family and join the law firm of Cooper, Schwartz, Diamond and Reich.  He concurrently served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  For the majority of his career, he practiced as a sole practitioner, taking special pride in serving as First Assistant District Attorney of Washington County, where he successfully prosecuted numerous murder cases.  He also served as solicitor for several municipalities, including 35 years as solicitor for Peters Township. 

He scaled down his practice in 2013 to devote more time to his true passion – competitive team roping.  Bill was an accomplished rodeo cowboy having roped steers and calves in 26 states and Canada and at such iconic arenas as Madison Square Garden, the Pontiac Silverdome, and Riverfront Stadium.  Even after his Parkinson’s diagnosis, he regularly entered team roping competitions. 

Even with all of his varied accomplishments, Bill said he was proudest of raising two daughters, who grew up to be wonderful mothers with fulfilling lives.  He loved hearing reports of the achievements and pursuits of his four grandsons on the basketball court or football field and in the classroom.  Bill also loved his stepchildren as his very own. His three step-granddaughters brought him so much joy, especially when they went out for chocolate ice cream and fed the animals together at his beloved family farm.

Bill made friends easily with his quick wit and penchant for telling colorful stories.  He was blessed with countless friends, some going all the way back to his Little League days and others with whom he bonded in recent years over a shared love of horses at Simpson Ranch in Wickenburg, AZ.  Perhaps because they never stopped him mid-story to say they’d heard that one before, he held his four-legged companions closest to his heart: Millie, Maggie and Max the goats, cats Jack and Gracie, and, of course, Buddy the horse.  

In recent years he found comfort and compassion from fellow congregants at Faith United Presbyterian Church in Washington, where he and Sue were members.

As Bill said, we all make choices in life, some more easily explained than others, but on reflection, I will adopt the view of the emblematic Gus McCrae (“Lonesome Dove”), “it’s been a hell of a party.” 

Friends will be received on Friday, March 29, 2024 from 2:00 - 4:00 and 6:00 - 7:30 P.M. in the Warco-Falvo Funeral Home, Inc., Wilson at East Katherine Ave., Washington, S. Timothy Warco, Owner/Supervisor, S. Timothy Warco II, Director, Holly Renay Warco, Director, Park N. Crosier, Director.  A funeral service will be held at 7:30 P.M. on Friday in the funeral home.  Burial will be private.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Washington Area Humane Society, P.O. Box 66 Eighty Four PA 15330 or at www.washingtonpashelter.org.  Condolences may be expressed at www.WarcoFalvoFuneralHome.com