COVINGTON, Ga. — A community is in mourning after a longtime Newton County judge who broke barriers died suddenly Wednesday morning.
According to the Newton County Sheriff's Office, Judge Horace Johnson, Jr. died just before 9 a.m. The sheriff's office said it was around that time when deputies got a call of a person in cardiac arrest at his home in Newton County.
The Newton County coroner told a representative for the sheriff's office that Johnson's died of natural causes.
In a statement, Sheriff Ezell Brown said his office was saddened by Johnson's passing. He remembered Johnson as a "true public servant" whose legacy Brown said would continue to live on in the community.
"Judge Johnson was more than a fellow elected official; he was a dear friend of mine,” Brown said, recalling how he first met Johnson in high school before later witnessing him receive his law degree and opening his own practice.
"As he was sworn in, I proudly stood alongside his family and friends," Brown said.
Johnson, according to a bio, got his Associate of Arts Degree from Oxford College before transferring to Emory School of Business then attaining his Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Georgia in 1982. He was admitted to the Georgia Bar that same year.
Johnson was appointed to the Superior Court for the Alcovy Judicial Circuit in 2002 by Gov. Roy Barnes, and was the first Black Superior Court Judge to do so, according to a local paper.
As a judge with the Superior Court, Brown said Johnson presided over many cases in which he was involved in - first as an investigator then later as Sheriff. Johnson also served as a designated judge on the Georgia Supreme Court.
"Our community lost a dear friend, colleague, community leader, and a true public servant," Brown added. "On behalf of the Newton County Sheriff's Office, I extend my deepest condolences to Judge Johnson's wife, Michelle; sons, James and Bryant; and mother, Mrs. Lottie Johnson.”
Johnson, who grew up in Newton County, was part of the district's first integrated classes. He entered the school system in his fourth grade year and graduated in 1975. In his own words, Johnson said the lessons he learned both inside and outside of the classroom "provided a strong foundation on which the challenges that came later were navigable."
“As a child who was directly a part of school integration, I was confident in myself whatever the circumstances,” he explained. “I give credit to those lessons as an integral part of my latter successes.”
Johnson was active in his community and served in several capacities, including as Past President of the Arts Association of Newton County. He also served on the Board of Counselors of Oxford College of Emory University; the Board of Trustees of the Leadership Georgia Foundation; the Board of Directors of United Bank (Covington Division); and the Board of Directors of the Washington Street Community Center. He was a founding Board of Director of Newton Mentoring, Inc. and is also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the Covington Kiwanis Club.
He is survived by his wife, Michelle, and two sons.
