Obituaries : * Alice Johnson; Educator, Peace Officer

A former Ventura County police officer and school principal died Sunday after a bout with cancer.

Alice Johnson, 60, served with the Oxnard Police Department from 1960 to 1966, working with juvenile offenders. She went on to teach in local schools and eventually became principal of Frontier High School in Camarillo, a continuing school for students who have been expelled from or elected to leave regular high school.

Friends and co-workers characterized Mrs. Johnson as someone who wasn’t held back by the prejudice of the early 1960s.

“Being black and being a woman weren’t obstacles for her,” longtime friend Francis Tatum said. “She went full speed ahead and ran right over anything put in her way.”

After moving to Oxnard in 1957, she worked as a waitress and then was hired by the Oxnard Police Department to handle the booking of female prisoners. She quickly worked her way up in the force until she was assigned to handle juvenile crime, said Assistant Police Chief Jim Latimer, who worked with her briefly.

“Just watching her deal with juveniles, you could see she was well-respected,” Latimer said. “She dealt with the whole case, including talking to the families. It’s appropriate that she eventually became a principal.”

She left the police force to have her second child and eventually became a teacher. She quickly went on to work in school administration, garnering a reputation for her ability to get things done.

“She was dynamic,” said Terry Tackett, principal of Camarillo High School and a former co-worker. Tackett said Mrs. Johnson took him under her wing 15 years ago when she was assistant principal at Camarillo High.

“She was very intuitive with people, and she cared so much about them. I think that’s why she could do things like discipline students and they would thank her for it. She respected people and that garnered respect.”

Mrs. Johnson retired from Frontier High School after being diagnosed with cancer two years ago, said Daisy Tatum, present principal at Frontier.

Mrs. Johnson is survived by her husband, Theopolis W. Johnson, and two daughters, Michelle Clisby and Karen Johnson, all of Oxnard. A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Anthony’s Church. A memorial scholarship has been set up in Mrs. Johnson’s honor with the Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship Fund, 3933 6th Ave., Los Angeles 90008-2730.

Barnes, James H., 56, of Ojai, retired Navy chief petty officer. Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.

Lindsey, Mary Isabel, 84, of Ventura, homemaker. Skillin-Carroll Mortuary, Santa Paula.

Martinez, Jose, 3, of Fillmore. Skillin-Carroll Mortuary, Fillmore.

McCann, Charles Perkins, 79, of Port Hueneme, retired U. S. postal employee. Guardian Memorial, Oxnard.

Poe, Hazel Beatrice, 77, of Oak View, homemaker. Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.

Strasser, Clarence A., 99, of Oxnard, retired rancher. Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.

Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.