Funeral Services for George Johnson
By Frederick H. Lowe Funeral services are scheduled Thursday and Friday for George E. Johnson, co-founder of the Black hair-care products firm Johnson Product Co. Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 16, 2026, for Mr. Johnson, at Leak and Sons, 7838 S. Cottage Grove, Chicago. Mr. Johnson’s life will be honored with a wake on the same day. The next day, July 17, 2026, the funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. at Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 W. 95th St., Chicago. Mr. Johnson, a pioneer in Black hair care, died Monday. He was 99. He founded the company with his wife, Joan, who died at 89 in 2019. The couple married in May 1950 and launched the company in 1954, starting it with $250 in combined capital. The company was headquartered at 8522 S. Lafayette Ave., Chicago. In 1954, Johnson founded Johnson Products Company in Chicago with his wife, Joan, and an unnamed barber. To fund the company, Johnson got a $250 bank loan by telling them that the money was for a vacation to California with his wife; he had previously been rejected for a business loan by another branch of the same bank, which had called the prospect “ridiculous.” However, the Johnsons saw the future and built the company into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. Together, the Johnsons built the company into one of the largest African American‑owned businesses in the U.S., creating iconic products like Ultra Wave (a hair relaxer for men) and later Ultra Sheen and Afro Sheen. Johnson Products was one of the first Black-owned companies traded on the American Stock Exchange and, later, on the New York Stock Exchange. The company also attempted to market its products in Africa. Over many decades, the company weathered changes in hairstyles and stiff competition from larger companies like Revlon and Avon that later tried to capitalize on Black hairstyles. Johnson Products always stood out, though, because they were a devoted sponsor of the popular Soul Train TV show hosted by Don Cornelius of Chicago. They also supported various philanthropic efforts benefiting urban communities. |