Family reflects on life of former Iowa state auditor Richard Johnson, who died at 87

Richard Dean Johnson, a former state auditor of Iowa, died Thursday after a years-long battle with Alzheimer's. He was 87.

Current state Auditor Rob Sand issued a statement Thursday expressing his condolences to Johnson's family.

"It is perhaps fitting that I was singing Dick Johnson’s praises as a model for an aggressive state auditor on a podcast on the eve that he passed," Sand said in the news release. "He will remain a source of inspiration for me and for others in our office when we know we need to inform Iowans about something that will draw the ire of people in positions of power."

Johnson graduated from Drake University with a degree in business administration and accounting before earning his CPA in 1963. His career in public service began when he worked as the Sheldahl city clerk in 1959 and then as the mayor of Sheldahl for 11 years.

Johnson became the director of finance with the Iowa Highway Commission and then director of the administration division and director of the motor vehicle division when the department was restructured as the Department of Transportation in 1975.

Following the death of auditor Lloyd Smith in 1979, Johnson was appointed by Gov. Robert Ray to serve as state auditor until the next general election. Johnson won re-election six times, serving the state of Iowa as auditor until his retirement in 2003.

"He really had an appreciation for what tax dollars can be used for and how they can be used well, and what really matters to his fellow citizens," Richard's son David Johnson said.

In the 1990s, Johnson and State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald pushed the Iowa government to use standard accounting practices that more clearly showed revenue and expenses.

Johnson also endorsed and campaigned for then-U.S. Rep. Fred Grandy in 1996 as Grandy ran against incumbent Gov. Terry Branstad. Grandy came within 3.6 points of defeating Branstad in the GOP primary election that year.

Having a father so active in the community and state politics made for an exciting childhood, according to Johnson's children.

"I remember growing up when he was on the campaign trail and he would take us along," daughter LeAnn Houlette said. "He would say, 'OK, you're going to come with us, but you have to bring your patriotic program with you.' So we would go and mom would play the piano and we would sing. I remember one of the times we even got to sing for Barbara Bush."

Daughter DeAnn Thompson remembers walking into the family's kitchen one morning to find her dad having breakfast with Sen. Chuck Grassley. Johnson also welcomed visiting groups from China into the family's home, being the first to volunteer if someone needed a place to stay.

"I realized a couple of years ago that at some point during my college term, Dad had a group from China over and I'm pretty certain that the president of China was one of the people that got stuck in the back of my van at one point," David Johnson said. "They wanted to spend time with actual Iowans. Dad stood up and said, 'I can take six.'"

Johnson prided himself on being a "gourmet chef" — a title he gave himself despite some cooking mishaps over the years, according to his children. Johnson's daughter, JoAnn Leach, recalled one morning when Johnson called the family to the kitchen for a breakfast of French toast.

"It was garlic French toast. We had Italian the night before and he had used the garlic bread, and it was so disgusting," Leach said. "But it is really a fun joke that we can look back on and just laugh about so much because he was just trying to make do with whatever there was, and that just wasn't necessarily the greatest thing at that time."

Johnson imparted on his children the importance of welcoming people of all backgrounds with open arms. He often traveled to help establish stable financial systems in other countries, and he enjoyed learning about different cultures.

"I just remember having so many people that we'd be in the basement, the biggest room in the house, and it's full of people from China or from Australia," Thompson said. "I can't even tell you how many countries were represented over the years, and he just welcomed everybody into our home and I think taught us so much about the value of everyone."

The Iowa legislature passed a resolution in 2002 honoring Johnson for his political courage and public service.

Johnson was involved in his local community through the American Legion, Rotary Club, Boone County Farm Bureau and the Madrid Evangelical Free Church. In retirement, he would buy two to four big tubs of cookie dough at a time to bake cookies for his church and other local organizations, according to Leach.

"He loved to do that so much," Leach said. "It was just the essence of who he was. He just had a joy to serve other people, and to bless them in whatever way he could."

Johnson's children remember him as an intelligent yet humble man who would do anything to help others.

"This is what was so hard about Alzheimer's; about eight years ago I said it's like watching the bright light fade in Dad," David Johnson said. "As far as I'm concerned, wherever he was, he was probably the smartest person in the room. But he wasn't pompous. And he could guide a discussion to the right answer, no matter who was in the room."

The visitation will be held 5-7 p.m. May 31 at the Madrid Evangelical Free Church. A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. June 1, also at the church. Johnson will be buried at the Sheldahl Cemetery in Sheldahl.

Grace Altenhofen is a news reporter for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at galtenhofen@registermedia.com or on Twitter @gracealtenhofen.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Former Iowa state auditor Richard Johnson dead at 87 after battle with Alzheimer's