William J. Johnston

Bill Johnston died at home in Bellingham on Palm Sunday, after spending his final months battling both ALS and metastasized cancer with the almost superhuman endurance for which he was known.

Bill would have fought forever if he could.

He is mourned by his wife of 46 years, Mary Kay Becker; his beloved children, Joe and Maureen; his sister Mary Beth and brother Ned; and countless friends, relatives, admiring colleagues, and appreciative former clients.

Let us spend a few moments on Bill's clients, for he spent many moments on them. A criminal defense attorney for more than 50 years, Bill was a fearless advocate. He fought hard and despised those who abused their power. And no doubt to the chagrin of the Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Bill won more than his share of cases.

Born in 1947 to William and Gertrude Johnston, Bill grew up in a row house on Ives Street in the factory town of Waterbury, Connecticut. As a child of Catholic Waterbury, he learned to love basketball. In middle school, Bill scored the game-winning shot for Sacred Heart against their rivals, St. Thomas. When he came to class the next day, the nun had written on the chalkboard, “Thank you, Billy.”

Bill went on to receive a Jesuit education at Fairfield University, where he graduated with honors in history. In fact, Bill very nearly became a history professor, and he knew just about everything about WWII. This pursuit of knowledge was to honor his own father, who as part of the 743rd Tank Battalion, drove a tank onto Omaha Beach in the first wave of the Normandy invasion, and then, just a few months later, beat back the Panzer advance in the Battle of the Bulge.

Fortunately for us, Bill decided to become a lawyer. He earned his law degree from the University of Connecticut and joined Volunteers in Service to America to do legal aid. VISTA assigned him to Bellingham, Washington, where much to his surprise, he stayed for the rest of his life. It was a lot of work for low pay. (Bill was known then to subsist on tuna fish, peanut butter, and pancake mix). But he also had a bit of good luck, because he found a kindred spirit in Mary Kay who was also working there. They married in 1979 and Joe and Maureen followed soon after.

For the lawyers in the room (and we know there are many), we would be remiss if we did not celebrate some of Bill’s greatest legal achievements. He won State v. Fitzsimmons in 1980, a case that had to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court despite what Bill thought was an irrefutable argument: in Washington, indigent defendants who ask for a lawyer have the right to one even when it's inconvenient, even when it's after hours, even when it's on the weekend. More than 30 years later, Bill proved he was still as relentless as ever when he won State v. Eriksen. In that case, fighting on behalf of another indigent defendant, he managed to persuade the Washington Supreme Court to twice grant reconsideration, and to finally come down on his client’s side. (Bill would want us to include the legal citations, which are 94 Wash. 2d 858 and 172 Wash. 2d 506, as he understood that not everyone was blessed with a photographic memory like he was.)

But most of you probably just remember Bill from around town because he talked at length to everyone he met. Maybe it was on the basketball court or at the gym where he worked out nearly every day. Maybe it was at the courthouse or downtown, wherever he was getting another coffee. Or maybe it was out by the Nooksack where he loved to spend time with his greatest friends and their dogs.

Somewhere, up there, Bill is still advocating. Just four hours after he passed away, a freshman at his beloved UConn sunk the game-winning three pointer in a buzzer-beater to defeat the Duke Blue Devils in one of the century’s greatest come-from-behind victories.

Bill, you weren’t known for taking it easy. We know that was you, reminding us to never give up.

There will be a Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, April 10 at 10:30 am at the Church of the Assumption (2116 Cornwall Ave, Bellingham), with a reception following at Westford’s Broadway Hall (1300 Broadway, Bellingham). 

In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to a charity that furthers Bill’s love of animals, his dedication to veterans, or the advancement of medical research at the University of Washington.