government » fred s. johns
Fred S. Johns

A large part of Fred Johns’ life has been devoted to positions affiliated with education.    Born on January 15, 1925 in Des Moines, Iowa, Fred S. was the son of Fred S., Sr. and Louise Kennedy Johns.  Six months after his birth the family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where Fred attended parochial schools, graduating from St. Thomas Military Academy in St. Paul in 1942.  The next year he began service in the U.S. Army.  Communications was his specialty in the Army.  From February 1943 to March 1946 he was Field Artillery communications sergeant with the 430th Field Artillery Group, serving in Luzon, the Philippine Islands in 1945.  Soon after his honorable discharge he enrolled in the University of Minnesota on the G.I. Bill.  He received his B.S. in Economics in July, 1948.  Graduate work the next two years took him to the Universities of Wisconsin and Minnesota specializing in economics and public finance.

On September 9, 1950 Fred Johns and Evenell (Evvy) Holsman were united in marriage in Bigfork, Minnesota.  While on their wedding trip Fred was advised by telegram he was to report for active duty in the 63rd Field Artillery Battalion, 24th Infantry Division.  This unit was in Japan until June of 1951.
Back once again in civilian life he was hired as personnel technician (job classification and compensation specialist) with the State of Minnesota Civil Service Department.  From May, 1953 until June of 1956 he worked in a similar capacity for the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Experience in the above two jobs prepared him for a move to Olympia, Washington as personnel technician for the Washington State Personnel Board then a transfer to the Office of the Governor where he was one of the team whose function was to design the State's budget and accounting systems.  He became principal budget analyst when the Budget and Accounting Act was passed by the Legislature in 1959.  Among other things, he was responsible for the budgets of the State's institutions of higher learning, including Eastern Washington College of Education.  The Fred Johns family came to Cheney on July 1, 1960.  Their two daughters, Nancy and Linda, were educated in Cheney schools from kindergarten through high school.  Fred Johns had been hired as chief business and financial officer at Eastern.  The name of the institution changed from Eastern Washington College of Education to Eastern Washington State College to Eastern Washington University.  The job title also changed: from Comptroller to Business Manager to Vice-President for Business and Finance.

The years of Mayor Johns dedicated service to the City of Cheney began in 1968 when Mayor George Fisher appointed him chairman of the newly-created Civil Service Commission.  In 1973 he was elected to the City Council with re-election in 1975 and 1983.  Most of those years he acted as Mayor pro-tem whenever necessary.  When Mayor Trulove resigned to accept a time-consuming position on the Northwest Power Planning Commission in 1986 the council promptly appointed Fred Johns to finish out the unexpired term until the next municipal election. Brief though his term as Mayor, he contributed much toward a new community library by putting together a feasible financial plan for the new building.  He requested and received the unanimous support of the City Council for the project.  He is quick to give credit to others who worked so diligently for the realization of the new facility now in use.  He feels the successful conclusion of the entire undertaking was the culmination of combined efforts of hard working individuals, community fund raising, cooperation of the City Council and the securing of Washington State Library grant funds.

Mayor Johns retired from his employment at EWU on January 1, 1983.  He was awarded the rank of Vice-President Emeritus by the EWU Board of Trustees.  The days continue to be busy ones.  He has retained his association with Eastern as treasurer of the EWU Foundation and the Eagle Athletic Association.  In November of 1987 he returned to work as Acting Vice-President for Extended Programs at the University, serving until a permanent replacement was hired in June, 1988.  Since then he has had the leisure time to play golf and catch up on some of his favorite reading.  Community organizations still benefit from his expertise.  Currently he is Treasurer of the Cheney Chamber of Commerce and a member of the local American Legion Post #72.  His business ability is known and sought in other areas.  He is presently a board member of both the Associated Industries of the Inland Empire and the Spokane Transit Authority. Fred Johns is the type of person who gives generously of his talents whenever and wherever he can contribute.  Our community is very fortunate to have men of his caliber and willingness to share in positions of trust. 

Contributed by Ellen Proctor, 1988.