Today's Featured Biography

 
S. Edmund Johnson

I attended two high schools. My Freshman and Sophomore years were at California Concordia in Oakland, CA (on Camden Street behind Frick Junior High). Concordia was a four year high school and two year college run by the Lutheran Church. During my Sophomore year I did poorly, and the school administration asked me not to return. Darn!

I transferred to Fremont High in Oakland for my Junior and Senior years. I flunked my senior year at Fremont in 1963. (I failed American History.) However, I went to summer school, received an A in American History, and received my 1963 diploma in August. That's why I didn't walk down the aisle with the rest of the class, but still had my photo in the yearbook. Oh well.

I married Dorothy Lopez, another FHS 1963 graduate in 1966.

We have one son, Carl, who is now 42, married, then divorced, was a single father and just remarried this past June (2012). His daughter just turned 11. Geeezzzz! We're GRANDPARENTS!

Dorothy and I were married for 16 years; were divorced for 21 years; and we have been remarried again for about 9 years. We have both stayed in the Bay Area. Dorothy used to be a floral designer and was becoming a "boat person" (see below).

I spent 20 years working for American Broadcasting Company. I was previously Chief Engineer of KSFX-FM (103.7), later Chief Engineer of KGO Radio (810 AM) and finally I was Director of Engineering for KGO Television (Channel 7) in San Francisco when I left ABC in 1989 to co-found a business with a colleague (from KPIX-TV) doing satellite transmission services. If you are traveling I-580 West, past the Golden Gate Fields horse track, the large satellite earth station antennas on the East side of the freeway is where I used to work. (or you can Google Maps the address of 2301 Columbia Blvd., Richmond, CA to see the facility). My job description at that time was: Satellite Earth Station Systems Design Engineer. I was also Vice President and part owner. Not bad for a kid who did so poorly in high school!

Dorothy and I lived aboard our 1996 Hunter Passage 42 sailing sloop for 5½ years while I was going through my divorce from my third wife - that divorce took 7 years to complete (Dorothy never remarried after our divorce and we started dating again 6 months after my 3rd divorce started). I made so many court appearances during that time that the court staff; the clerk, the bailiff, the court reporter and the Judge could recognize me and know my name if they saw me on the street.

We no longer have the boat, however we kept her at the beautiful Marina Bay Yacht Harbor in Richmond, CA. The boat was like a miniature two bedroom, two bath apartment. We moved ashore in 2006 to Pinole, CA, and subsequently to Antioch in 2009. I retired in November 2011, and we're not really sure what we want to do next. Maybe do some more traveling.

I did establish a consulting business after retiring, just to kind of keep in touch. I don't work too hard at it, but I have done work for K-Love Radio in Rocklin, CA, KRON-TV in San Francisco, and KOVR-TV in Sacramento. I really only do just enough work to support my photography and videography hobbies.

Over the years my interests have included flying (instrument rated private pilot), sailing (have owned 2 forty foot plus sailing sloops), Amateur Radio (Advanced Class - KI6JA), water skiing, Jet Skiing, snow skiing, motorcycle dirt bike riding, computers (I manage 19 web sites for friends, family and a couple of businesses), photography and most recently videography.


A couple of coincidences:

Right out of high school (summer school), I started working for AT&T in the Overseas Radio Department at the Trans Pacific office in Oakland. A few years later, Bob DiBari (FHS '63) was hired at the same office and we worked together until I left in 1968.

I began working for American Broadcasting Company later in 1968, and again, a few years afterwards, another Fremont Alumni, Allen Wolfe (FHS '63) began working there as well.

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