George Johnson, M.D. was the original founding partner of General Surgeons
Inc. He founded the group in 1969 with Dr. Kenneth Scherer. Dr. Johnson by
then had been in practice in Richmond for almost twenty years.
George Johnson was born in rural Campbellsburg and graduated from high school
there in 1933. He went on to nearby Louisville, and attended the University of
Louisville for both his undergraduate and Medical degrees. He received his
Bachelors degree in 1938 and his Doctor of Medicine in 1941. Soon thereafter,
World War II erupted, and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Dr. Johnson attained the
rank of Lieutenant Commander and became the ships physician on the destroyer
U.S.S. Bush (DD529). On April 6, 1945, while on radar picket duty off Okinawa,
the Bush was attacked and later sunk after being hit by three separate Japanese
Kamikaze planes. To read about the incredible story of Dr. Johnson and his
shipmates, visit the U.S.S.
Bush website.
After his return to the United States from military duty, Dr. Johnson went on
to his surgical residency at Indiana University Medical Center, completing his
training in 1949. He then moved to Richmond and began his practice here. He was
the first surgeon in Richmond to performed many different types of surgeries. He
was the first surgeon from Richmond to be elected President of the Indiana
chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and later formed the first surgical
corporation in the state with Dr. Sherer. Dr. Johnson served in many
administrative posts during his career, including Chief of Staff at Reid
Hospital in 1964. He was the Chief of Surgery from 1973 to 1975 and received the
Paul S. Rhoads Humanitarian in Medicine Award in 1986, shortly after his
retirement.
Dr. Johnson helped shape the medical community in Richmond, by his insistence
that all of this future partners would be University trained and board
certified. He helped recruit other similarly trained physicians in several other
surgical specialties and in anesthesiology as well. He also insisted that all
patients be treated regardless of their financial ability to pay, and this ideal
continues to be a guiding principle for General Surgeons, Inc.
Dr. Johnson is survived by his wife Mary Lou Millis Johnson, their four
children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
