A master woodworker, fisherman, hunter. Family provider and caregiver. If there was ever a clear definition of a man, it could have been Fred Johnson.

“He would tell you, ‘I may be 94 years old, but I don’t take no fool,’” said Fred Rast, Johnson’s nephew. “He was a man’s man.

“He helped people and took care of people the best he could.”

Johnson never married but spent his life taking care of family members when they had no shelter, providing a home for several loved ones through the years.

When he was younger, his spare time was spent on the banks of the Edisto River, casting a line or two. Or he might be out dove hunting.

“He was the leader of the family,” Rast said. “Everybody looked up to him.”

But then came Sept. 21.

“This thing is just like a bad movie; it hasn’t sunk in yet,” Rast said.

The bad movie began with a phone call that something was wrong at Johnson’s Ridgewood Drive residence.

“Monday morning when I came to work, the sitter called,” Rast said. “When I got there, I was so surprised – only his bedroom was in shambles.”

An apparently battered Johnson was transported to Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia. He never regained consciousness.

And the family that Johnson nurtured in years past wonders what happened and why. Investigators have said they’re still trying to sort out the incident to determine if foul play was involved.

The family believes Johnson’s death was no accident.

“When we found him, he was between the bed and the chest of drawers,” Rast said. “They had just torn all over the place.”

As far as any potential enemies, Rast said Johnson had only built a life of making friends. Johnson grew up a respected woodworker.

“His mind was just as sharp as it could be,” Rast said. “He was born in 1914, and by 13, he was into woodworking.”

Even before the advent of the power hand tool, Johnson had become highly skilled with woodworking tools. The company for which he worked often sent him out of state to handle special orders that called for a master woodworker. He also worked inside banks when they needed intricately detailed work.

Locally, he built by hand the pulpit that is still used today at his beloved First Baptist Church in Orangeburg, Rast said.

“He was in charge of his life right up until the night he died,” Rast said. “I told him he was the boss and I’m just the legs to get things done.”

As Johnson aged, his ability to get around lessened somewhat. Rast said he considered Johnson a “second father” since he spent so much time with him. He also lived next door.

Not too many years ago, Johnson broke his shoulder during a fall. The six weeks of rehab was enough for Johnson to decide he never wanted to live in a caregiver facility. Ever.

“He was so uncomfortable there,” Rast said. “He said he never wanted to go back to a nursing home.”

With that in mind, Rast said he couldn’t simply ignore Johnson’s wishes.

“It was my duty. I felt obligated to take care of him in his final days,” he said.

Since Johnson couldn’t get out to his church any longer, he’d watch services on TV. One thing Johnson seemed to enjoy were the car trips he and Rast would take down to the river.

“We would sit there and watch the water go by,” Rast said. “I think he found that relaxing and reminded him of the places we used to fish.”

Last weekend, Rast had stopped off at the grocery store like usual to pick up a few things for his uncle – sandwich meats, canned goods, his favorite snacks. He stopped off every day except Sundays, which were spent relaxing next door,

“I put his groceries up, a barbecue chicken plate and all his medications,” Rast said of the Saturday before Johnson was found. “I didn’t go get him up from his nap because he’d want to stay up.”

Then on Monday, the call came.

Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said earlier this week investigators are still attempting to determine just what happened. But Rast said he and other members of the family still believe some type of foul play happened inside Johnson’s bedroom.

Rast said even he was initially skeptical. A family member had once suffered a stroke, resulting in the bedroom becoming disheveled. That happened one day before she passed away of a heart attack.

But in this case, a broken glass window beside a doorway has led family members to believe this may have been something other than natural causes.

“All of the glass had fallen inward on the rug, and that was the point of entry,” Rast said.

Rast said if there’s any consolation, it’s that he kept his word he would prevent Johnson from having to live anywhere but at his own home. Three days after Johnson was found unconscious, he passed away at the Columbia hospital.

“Then we brought him home,” Rast said.

If anyone has information regarding any possible foul play at Johnson’s Ridgewood residence, they are asked to contact the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office at 803-534-3550.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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