In some sad news for the holiday season, the Omega Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. has just added a great football player.
More importantly, Demetrious Johnson was a great man. He worked tirelessly through his foundation to support under-served and under-resourced young people.
He worked tirelessly through his foundation to support underserved and under-resourced young people.
He took immense pride and joy in making the holiday season special for thousands of children and families over the years. Johnson, 61, passed away on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2022. Since he would have delivered toys to children throughout the area on Christmas, the family he left behind completed that mission on Christmas Day.
“My dad had the biggest heart,” his daughter Taylore Johnson told Ksdk. His daughter, Ashley Chin, added that, “His big heart and love for his community will never be forgotten.”
According to his family, Johnson died of an aortic dissection, a rare condition in which a tear occurs in the inner layer of the body’s main artery. He was in a St. Louis hospital when he past away. Johnson’s mother, a single parent raising eight children in the Darst-Webbe Public Housing Project, was an activist who fought for tenants’ rights and a safer neighborhood.
Demetrious, her youngest, had a similar call to help those around him. He starred for the McKinley High School football team and earned a football scholarship at the University of Missouri. A hard-hitting defensive back, Johnson was named a Big Eight Conference All Star in 1982.
His bond with Mizzou never ended, and he was instrumental in bridging a divide between the school’s athletic program and Black athletes from the St. Louis region.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education and subsequently was selected in the fifth round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. At the time of the draft, he was considered undersized and was a fifth round pick. Yet he rose to the challenge and launched an outstanding career.
In 1985, he recorded three interceptions and sacked opposing quarterbacks three times. During his four seasons with the Lions, Johnson missed just two games due to injury.
After he was traded to the Miami Dolphins, Johnson played his final season in 1987. Although while playing for Detroit and Miami, he visited every NFL city, Johnson was determined to return home and help the community that had assisted him while he was growing up.
Johnson founded the Demetrious Johnson Charitable Foundation in 1993, with the goal of improving the lives of underprivileged families and their children in the St. Louis area.
“Demetrious Johnson will be truly missed by the entire St. Louis Community,” said Michael McMillan, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis president and CEO. “He gave of his time, talent, and treasure to help those in our community that needed it the most. We worked together for many years helping collaborate for the benefit of countless families.”
McMillan said Johnson used his celebrity as a former NFL player “to be not only a champion on the field but off the field as well.
In 2010 when his foundation was moving into a new headquarters, Johnson told the St. Louis American, “We don’t charge kids. We never have and never will.”
He said the only thing required is “sweat equity,” which means the kids must be committed to community service and do well in school.
“We want to make sure they are an extension of us, and we are an extension of them,” Johnson said of his young volunteers.
Frank Cusumano, KSDK sports director, said on Twitter, “There may have been some who donated more money to our town then my friend, Demetrious Johnson, but nobody donated more heart.”
“We will never have another one like him.” After retiring from the NFL, Johnson worked as a national sales manager for Covidien (formerly Sherwood Medical Company) and hosted shows on St. Louis radio station WHHL- FM (Hot 104.1) and Detroit radio station WFDF-AM.
He was serving as the agent for Mizzou receiver Luther Burden III’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) endorsement deals. Burden was on hand Dec. 18 when Johnson celebrated the 32nd Annual Toy Giveaway at Union Station. Johnson is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 37 years, Pat; daughters Taylore, Alexandria, Lakisha, and Sydney; and son, Jalen.
On Christmas morning, Johnson’s family and friends made sure that the annual Demetrious Johnson toy give- away continued. They said “We’re going out to provide toys, to provide different supplies to make Christmas amazing for these special families that have been selected.”
“When he was a child, he had people who came in every Christmas Eve to support and provide gifts for him and his family. Because of that, he wanted to give back and do the same.”
