Robert G. Johnson

ROBERT G. JOHNSON, COLLEGE PROFESSOR AND GURU, 90Dr. Robert G. Johnson, known to all as "Dr. Bob," died at his home, in Ponca NE, on Tuesday. He was 90, and had been suffering from Parkinson's Disease.A charismatic professor of Communication Arts teaching speech and general semantics at Wayne State College, in Wayne NE, from 1958-1986, Dr. Bob surrounded himself with loving friends, many of them former students. During his tenure at Wayne State, he served as chairman of the Communication Arts department and head of the Humanities division; and coached debating teams on tour.A lifelong devotee of the arts, Dr. Bob also worked as director of presentations at the college, introducing to the campus such internationally renowned figures as the pianist Rosalyn Tureck, violinist Itzhak Perlman, and actor Basil Rathbone. Occasionally Dr. Bob also performed in and directed theatrical productions. He had been a professional actor, and Wayne acclaimed his interpretation of the title roles of classics like Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and Molire's "The Miser." Yet perhaps Dr. Bob will be remembered best as a spiritual leader, or guru, and for the years when he transformed his Ponca residence into an ecumenical center for the study of meditation and yoga known as the Temple of the Laughing Monkey.Born in Mount Harris, Colorado, where his father worked as a mine foreman and his mother was a schoolteacher, Dr. Bob learned from an early age to ride horses. He loved to fish and ski, and he earned the money for his college education by trapping animals and selling their pelts. Later he worked as a horse-wrangler. Dr. Bob graduated from Brigham Young University, in Provo, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1942.After a stint in the United States Navy, Dr. Bob graduated in 1945 from the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, and he served as an officer ferrying troops and materials into the Pacific war zone. He had some sobering tales to tell about his wartime service, but he most enjoyed recalling a particular voyage. During that tour he caused a sensation and delighted the Pacific Islanders with a recording of the popular American song "Pistol-Packin' Mama."After the war, Dr. Bob lived in New York where he pursued an acting career, and danced for modern choreographers Harriette Ann Gray and Eleanor King. He was a popular ballroom-dance instructor in the Arthur Murray Studios. During this period, he also married Russian prima ballerina Nina Youshkevitch, who had come to the US as a refugee and who later also taught at Wayne State College. When Dr. Bob decided to become an educator, he earned his PhD from University of Denver.During the late 1960s, Dr. Bob became fascinated with Eastern spirituality, and after studying with Baba Hari Das at Mount Madonna, in Santa Cruz, California, Dr. Bob became an expert teacher of Ashtanga Yoga. Under the name Raghubar Dass, he offered yoga instruction on KWSC-TV; and he encouraged the study of yoga at Wayne State.It was during this period that he established himself in Ponca, eventually building a temple on his property dedicated to the Hindu deity Hanuman. The temple was a center for both spiritual and artistic activities, which over the years included performances by Santee Sioux dancers; a theatrical distillation of the Hindu epic "Ramayana" and other dramatic performances; poetry readings; meditation workshops; sweat lodges; and prayer services conducted by visiting Tibetan monks.An annual celebration called "The Nettle Soup Festival" attracted spiritual seekers, and served as the rallying point for the Milarepa Rangers, a group that Dr. Bob co-founded in the name of a Tibetan Buddhist saint. All were welcome at the festival, and Dr. Bob bestowed upon each individual the loving gifts of attention, understanding and encouragement. Inspired also by the writings of Nebraska's poet laureate John G. Neihardt, Dr. Bob hoped to produce in Ponca a grand pageant re-enacting the life of Crazy Horse, but this dream never materialized. In retirement, Dr. Bob returned to his early love of oil painting, and he mastered the art of stained glass. He was a past member of the Ponca Trailblazers Saddle Club, was affiliated with the Wayne Masonic Lodge, and Dr. Bob belonged to the American Legion/Auxiliary. He was also a past member of the Baker Street Irregulars, in Wayne.Survivors are his son, Robert J. Johnson, a dance critic, and his son's domestic partner, Paul Caricone, an SVP of marketing intelligence in the insurance industry, both residing in Manhattan; nephew Garry Pettee and his wife Nan, of Evergreen, Colorado; and niece Karen Gilbert.The family offers heartfelt thanks to the care-givers who nursed and comforted Dr. Bob through the trials of illness, especially Kandis Conrad, Tracey Godsey, Michael Gibbs, Jeff Booth and Jayne Irwin; and profound thanks, too, to Hospice of Siouxland.The Milarepa Rangers offer their customary salute: "Long may you ride. Far may you ride. FAR OUT may you ride."All are welcome to attend a viewing from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 20, at Mohr Funeral Home, 218 N. East Street, in Ponca. Cremation will follow. Call (402) 755-2202 for information.