In every community in America there are those individuals who deserve our respect, love, and appreciation when they die. One of those individuals for us here in Conway, Arkansas, was the late Billy Farrel Johnson. Bill, as he was known to his friends, was such a man.

Bill passed away on Aug. 27, 2024, and he had so many friends that they had to find a larger church to hold his memorial service. He was a true icon in every sense of the word. He was a charter member of Grace Presbyterian Church in Conway and nearby Grace Methodist Church was kind enough to allow this church to hold Bill’s memorial service in their much larger sanctuary.

          Bill graduated from Conway High School in 1957, and enrolled at Arkansas State Teachers College, now the University of Central Arkansas. While in college, he joined Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity and served as its president before earning his BSE in history in three years. He was also working part time at KCON Radio. Upon graduation, he taught history at North Little High Rock School for a semester and then rejoined KCON full time. Johnson’s 45-year career in sports broadcasting began at KCON in 1967. He was widely recognized as “the Voice of the Bears.” Johnson did “spotting” for KCON Radio Sports as a sophomore in high school, and in 1961 he was named General Manager of the station and later would become part owner.

          Bill Johnson acted as sports analyst for the University of Arkansas football radio network beginning in 1968. When play-by-play man Bud Campbell died in a car accident early in the 1974 season, Johnson called play-by-play for the remaining 10 games. When he retired from radio in 2006, he had broadcast 765 basketball games and 468 football games. His broadcast style featured homespun humor, based on familiar scenes from southern culture. One of the stories they tell on Bill is that he always liked to give the name of the player who “made the tackle.” On one occasion the players ended up in a dog-pile, and it was not obvious who made the tackle, so Bill just gave the name of Butch Thacker, one of his friends, who was not even in the game. They said at the end of the season, Butch Thacker had made more tackles than any other player.

I got to know Bill when my “How to Plan Your Life” radio show ran on his station, until the station went off the air. Later, I would get to know him as a fellow Kiwanian when our local club took over the Conway Bookcase Project. I can say from my own personal experience that Bill Johnson was faithful in everything he did, which included coming to our meetings even when he had to get a walker out of his car and slowly make his way into the meeting area. He was a wonderful man, and everyone loved him, which is why he left such a great legacy in our community.

While there is much, much more to Bill’s life that I don’t have room to share, including his banking career, I would like to leave you with this final question: To whom in your community do you need to pay tribute?

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(Jim Davidson is an author, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. For a personalized copy of “Keep Your Fork” send $25 (includes P&H & TAX) to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Dr. Conway, AR 72034)