Biography of Clare Etoile Johnson
CHS Hall of Fame Class of 2022
Clare Etoile “Van-Zandt” Johnson was born in Tioga, Texas in 1923. The daughter of a lawyer and six-term State Senator, she set out to make her mark on the world. She attended Hunter College, but when the Nazi’s invaded Poland starting World War II, she joined the armed services. She became the first woman selected by the Alamo unit of the WAVES, where she served in the U.S. Navy as a pharmacist’s mate, first class. There she met her husband-to-be, Chalmers Duthie Johnson. On discharge the couple married and had two children, Linda and Pamela. In 1950, the couple moved to Coolidge and had two more children, Debra and Scotty.
While raising four children, Ms. Johnson worked for her husband, Dr. C. D. Johnson. She was the office manager, bookkeeper, X-Ray technician, and sometimes janitor. The Johnsons worked hard to provide quality healthcare for the citizens of Coolidge. When patients couldn’t afford services, she accepted corn, cucumbers, and watermelon as payment. She volunteered for the Coolidge Episcopalian and Methodist churches and, she became the second woman elected to serve on the Coolidge school board. In 1959, she had the honored distinction of becoming the first woman president of the Coolidge Unified School District School Board. Records indicate she was elected by her male peers on the board, a testament to her outstanding leadership skills.
Articles from the Coolidge Examiner reveal that the year of her presidency, 1959, was a period of robust growth. The school district expanded rapidly. Budgets rose and improvements were made to school buildings, grounds, and curricula. The expansion included the introduction of a High School art department, shop class, two social studies classes, and two laboratory science courses. For the first time student lockers were placed in the halls. A concrete slab was poured northeast of the old high school. This accommodated the construction of new basketball, badminton, volleyball, and tennis courts. A multi-year plan was created that would later put picnic tables and a canopy to provide a shady spot for students to have lunch. Two new entrances, parking, and ticket booths were added to accommodate football fans. The Examiner reported: The addition of a fine new all-electric football scoreboard was added. Twenty-five teachers were added to the staff and educators were granted an across-the-board salary increase.
Unfortunately, Ms. Johnson’s health began to decline in the early 1960’s. After a long struggle, at age 47, she succumbed to lung cancer. Decades later she remains a stellar example for women everywhere. She was a person with ideas and passion. She lived at a time in history when the “woman’s place” was in the home yet had the courage and conviction to step into the board room. She took risks to accomplish what she thought necessary for the greater good. In the end, Coolidge schools and the Coolidge community benefited greatly from her heartfelt boldness. She demonstrated that with grit and determination, outworn ideas, prejudices, and biases can be overcome. She was a pioneer in a pioneering town and set an example for Coolidge women to come. She proved what the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg famously said: “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.”
