Evangeline Parish police juror passes away

Lamar Johnson, Evangeline Parish Police Juror for District 4, passed away on Tuesday, August 10, at the age of 67.
“I was honored to work along side Mr. Lamar Johnson throughout his tenure,” said Police Jury President Ryan “LeDay” Williams. “Mr Johnson served the residents of Evangeline Parish with the utmost honor and respect. He was an individual who was about taking care of business and ensuring that the jobs got done. One of his goals as a juror was to not have any dirt roads in his area, and, over the past few years, this wasn’t an easy task. But, with the help of Mr. Chester Granger (public works director) and our chip seal crew, this goal of his has been accomplished. All of his gravel roads had been chip sealed in his area.”
Williams continued, “Mr. Lamar had so much love and compassion for our Crooked Creek Recreational Park. He would spend many, many days at the creek and was just astonished on how well it’s been doing for the past few years. I remember last year for Halloween when myself, Eric Solieau, and Mr. Lamar passed out tons of candies and treats to the kids who participated in our annual Halloween event at the creek.”
“He will be truly missed. Rest in paradise, my friend. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.”
Mayor Quint West of Pine Prairie said of Johnson, “He was an awesome public servant. District Four was blessed to have him represent it. He was loved by the residents of District Four, and he loved the residents of District Four. He will be greatly, greatly missed. He was one of a kind. My prayers are with his family.”
Also remembering Johnson was Mayor Phillip Cavins of Turkey Creek who expressed, “Our district has been very blessed to have had Mr. Lamar as our police jury member as long as we have. Lamar has played a huge role in our parish with streets and draining that we have in our district. He has helped us out in Turkey Creek on several occasions when we did not have the equipment needed for a project. He will be missed by many, and I am grateful to of know Mr. Lamar. His family and friends will be in our prayers.”
Johnson was a lifelong resident of Pine Prairie and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Crompton Johnson. He was married to the former Gayle Fontenot and later to the former Denise Manuel and had five children and 11 grandchildren.
He graduated from Pine Prairie High School in 1972 and was soon employed as an oilfield gauger and real estate agent. He previously served on the board of directors for Guaranty Bank and was involved in private business. He was also a Mason, volunteer fireman, member of the Athletic Booster Club, Pine Prairie Youth Baseball Coach, youth basketball coach, as well as being a volunteer with many civic and charitable causes.
Johnson was reelected to the police jury in October 2019 when he received 859 votes and defeated challenger Robert Johnson who received 504 votes.
At the time he ran for re-election, Johnson, who had been on the jury for 12 years, said, “We’ve blacktopped nearly 100 miles of gravel roads. We will have all but a mile and a half done by the time of the election.”
Johnson was first elected to the police jury in 2007 when he defeated Stan Leger by a 30 vote difference. Johnson carried the precincts at Pine Prairie Village Hall, Beaver, and Friendship Baptist but trailed at the Lake Cove, Turkey Creek, and Clearwater precincts. When the subtotal votes were tallied, Johnson edged Leger 656 votes to 653, but Johnson won the absentee vote 132 to 105.
Prior to running for police jury, Johnson was appointed to serve on the Evangeline Parish Tourism Commission and ran for state representative in 1991 when he finished fourth behind incumbent Danny Lemoine and challengers Dirk Deville and Jeff Guillory. Johnson received 2,331 votes (1,921 in Evangeline and 410 in St. Landry).
As of press time on Wednesday, August 11, services were pending.