Imbued with a high intellect and a natural sense of wonderment, Frank Johnson used every one of his God-given talents for the benefit of his friends, patients and the public whilst growing in breadth and depth up until the time of his departure.

Born at Subiaco, Western Australia, to August Johnson and his wife Maggie Elizabeth, née Moore, he was the youngest of a family of eight. He attended State Schools in semi-rural areas before going on to Wesley College for three years. By the age of 17 he already manifested exceptional and wide academic talents, which took him to the forefront of the examination system and the gaining of university exhibitions in physics and chemistry together with a gold medal awarded by the Alliance Française.

Although medicine was his first love and enduring passion, he was forced to compromise because of the dual lack of a medical school in WA at that time and personal dearth of finance. He entered the Faculty of Science graduating BSc in 1943, first class honours in 1944 and MSc in 1947. During the war, although he enlisted, he was directed to work for CSIR on the Lake Campion Alunite project, his talents being too great to squander. In 1944 he married Maureen Moore.

By 1946 it became possible for him to enter the Faculty of Medicine at Melbourne University, graduating with Honours in 1950. Residency was completed at the Royal Melbourne Hospital where one of his treasured memories was to act as junior resident to the late Sir Edward (Weary) Dunlop.

He practised in Reservoir, Melbourne, for a number of years before returning to the West to enter rural general practice in Geraldton. Here he remained for a number of years accumulating those special talents and understandings, which stood him in such good stead as he turned his powerful talents to internal medicine. By that time however, in 1971, he had become a Member of the College of General Practitioners whence, by natural progression and widely ranging interests he turned his restless attention to retraining as a general physician. Three years later he was admitted to Membership of the RACP.

By 1974 he was appointed to his own medical unit at the Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood, commencing at the same time his affiliations with the University Department of Medicine. Fellowship of the College followed in three years. The next period of his life was just as characteristically encompassing of challenge, learning, travel and intellectual growth as that which had gone before. This spirit of intellectual inquiry remained with him long into his retirement. He studied geology for two years employing that knowledge as a dilettante gold fossicker, taking him into the outback which he so much enjoyed. An extensive collection of his photographs and paintings attest to this. Study of French and Italian at advanced levels together with an interest in Indonesian did not serve to slake the driving thirst for all things of the mind and senses which this world has to offer. His latter years were preoccupied with the integration of all these attributes and facilitated by his command of the computer whose versatility complemented his own.

Initial coronary artery bypass grafting was carried out in 1987 and in December 1998 further cardiac surgery was required. Postoperatively he sustained a number of strokes and became virtually blind as a result. Useful function of his right hand was restricted together with the loss of many of those attributes which came so easily to his command. He was a lover of classical music and literature and continued to draw solace from the audition of both. The surrender to all of these Job-like vicissitudes was met by a stoicism and acceptance, which found its release in sleep on 21 December 1999.

His wife Maureen and three of their four sons survived him.

Those who knew Frank Johnson well during the rich, many tiered tower of his life have contributed to this appreciation the compilation of which has been made both easy because of the love and admiration which shine through them and difficult because of the tyrannies of space.