Robert Stanley Johnson, of Lexington, Virginia, died on Saturday, August 13, 2011 at the Augusta Medical Center.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the St. Patrick's Church in Lexington at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 with burial to follow in the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery.

Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m.

Johnson was Cincinnati Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, at Washington and Lee University. He joined the W&L faculty in 1965 and retired in 2003.

Among other accomplishments, he served two terms as Chair of the Department Mathematics. In 2004, the University honored Professor Johnson with the dedication of a classroom in Robinson Hall on the historic Colonnade. He is the co-author of Elementary Linear Algebra, published in 1987.

He was an unusually devoted mentor to generations of W&L students, many of whom became devoted friends in later years. His range of interests - in music, history, literature, science - made him a valued friend to a wide circle of friends who prized his wit, his enthusiasm and his steadfastness.

An avid traveler, he visited many parts of the world often accompanied by friends, former students and family.

Locally he was a devoted congregant at St. Patrick's Church and a member of the choir. He was also a active member of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities and served as treasurer of the local chapter.

Professor Johnson was born in Pikeville, Kentucky on November 23, 1937, the son of Marvin Forrest and Norcie Wicker Johnson.

He grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky, and graduated from Georgetown College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned his Ph. D. He is survived by his brother, Glen, and sister-in-law, Sipra of Poughkeepsie, NY, a niece, Denise Johnson of Washington, DC, and a nephew, Robert Alexander Johnson of Portland, OR.

Arrangements are being handled by Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory, Lexington, VA.