LEWISBURG, Pa. — Family and friends will remember Union County District Attorney Pete Johnson as compassionate and kind with a great sense of humor.
"I think there's going to be a huge hole in a lot of people's hearts. I think he's going to be greatly missed professionally. Pete had a ton of friends," said Paula Swett, Pete's wife.
"He really was a person who was considerate and thoughtful and probably the single greatest listener that existed. Growing up and having that was special because it was someone you could just always talk to," said Conor Quinlan, Pete's son.
Johnson died Sunday, just a few months before he was set to retire as Union County district attorney, a position he held for seven terms, nearly 28 years.
"I met Pete as a young lawyer. We were both young lawyers in 1987," Union County Assistant DA Jeff Crossland said.
Crossland worked with Johnson for nearly 30 years.
"Many DAs don't even get into the courtroom, don't do a trial. Pete was a working DA from day one right up until the day he died," Crossland said.
"Pete was at the top of his class at Dickinson Law. But once he showed up for those big interviews in a wheelchair, he didn't ever get a job," Swett said.
Johnson became a paraplegic in his mid-20s but never let that stop him. He worked as an assistant district attorney before he was elected DA in 1995. He is believed to be the longest-serving district attorney in Pennsylvania and has prosecuted thousands of cases.
But to his wife Paula and sons Conor and Aaron, he was much more.
"Just a great father to all of us. Now that my brother and I have kids also, just a great grandfather. They called him Pop Pop," Quinlan said.
"I really can't imagine a world without him. I think that's what a lot of his friends are saying, 'Oh, my God, not Pete Johnson," Swett said.
Pete Johnson was 68 years old.