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{{Infobox person

{{Infobox person

|name=Neal Sox Johnson

|name=Neal Sox Johnson<br>

|birth_date=February 14, 1933

|birth_date=February 14, 1933

|birth_place=Murfreesboro<br>Pike County<br>[[Arkansas]]

|birth_place=Murfreesboro<br>Pike County<br>[[Arkansas]]

Johnson was born at home and named '''Oscar Neal Johnson''', one of five children of Olvy Johnson (1903-1975) and the former Elsie Faye Keeling (1906-1976) in Murfreesboro, the seat of Pike County in southwestern Arkansas. Given the nickname "Sox" at Murfreesboro High School, he dropped the "Oscar" and became "Neal Sox Johnson." In 1955, he received a Bachelor of Science Education degree from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, when the institution was known as Henderson State Teachers College. He later undertook graduate studies at the [[University of Arkansas]] at Fayetteville. After college, he worked briefly as a draftsman and estimator for a construction company and for USX (then U.S. Steel) in Gary, [[Indiana]], where his late sister then resided. In 1956, Johnson entered Reserve Officer Training School at Fort Benning, [[Georgia]]. He subsequently settled in Nashville in Howard County in southwestern Arkansas, where he operated a construction company and a building supply business.<ref name=statement>Statement of Neal Sox Johnson, Temple, [[Texas]], April 2011, based on interview with author Billy Hathorn</ref>

Johnson was born at home and named '''Oscar Neal Johnson''', one of five children of Olvy Johnson (1903-1975) and the former Elsie Faye Keeling (1906-1976) in Murfreesboro, the seat of Pike County in southwestern Arkansas. Given the nickname "Sox" at Murfreesboro High School, he dropped the "Oscar" and became "Neal Sox Johnson." In 1955, he received a Bachelor of Science Education degree from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, when the institution was known as Henderson State Teachers College. He later undertook graduate studies at the [[University of Arkansas]] at Fayetteville. After college, he worked briefly as a draftsman and estimator for a construction company and for USX (then U.S. Steel) in Gary, [[Indiana]], where his late sister then resided. In 1956, Johnson entered Reserve Officer Training School at Fort Benning, [[Georgia]]. He subsequently settled in Nashville in Howard County in southwestern Arkansas, where he operated a construction company and a building supply business.<ref name=statement>Statement of Neal Sox Johnson, Temple, [[Texas]], April 2011, based on interview with author Billy Hathorn</ref>

   

   

In 1956, Johnson married the former Carmen Louise Webb, a former employee of the [[U.S. District Court]], while the couple lived near [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], [[Texas]], and in Alexandria, [[Virginia]]. The Johnsons have three children, Olvy Johnson (named for his grandfather) of Falls Church, Virginia, in suburban [[Washington, D.C.]], Neal Steven Johnson of Temple, Texas, and Tina Elizabeth Duncan of Menifee near the resort city of Palm Springs, [[California]]. Johnson is a [[Baptist]].<ref name=statement/>

In 1956, Johnson married the former Carmen Louise Webb, a former employee of the [[U.S. District Court]], while the couple lived near [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], [[Texas]], and in Alexandria, [[Virginia]]. The Johnsons have three children, Olvy Johnson (named for his grandfather) of Falls Church, Virginia, in suburban [[Washington, D.C.]], Neal Steven Johnson of Temple, Texas, and Tina Elizabeth Duncan of Menifee near the resort city of Palm Springs, [[California]]. Johnson is a [[Baptist]].<ref name=statement/>

==Farmers Home Administration==

==Farmers Home Administration==

After his 1972 reelection,  President Nixon recruited Johnson to serve in either the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, which [[George Romney]] of [[Michigan]] was vacating as the secretary, or in the Farmers Home Administration. He chose the FmHA and relocated from Arkansas to Arlington, Virginia. With the inauguration of [[Jimmy Carter]] of Georgia, however, Johnson lost the position and returned to private life and worked in [[Arlington, Texas|Arlington]], Texas (not Virginia). He returned to the FmHA with the inauguration of [[Ronald W. Reagan]], whom he supported in 1980, and was named the deputy administrator for program operations under [[United States Secretary of Agriculture]] John Block of [[Illinois]]. In this capacity, Johnson was often called to testify before U.S. congressional committees and developed a good working relationship with former governor and then Senator Dale Bumpers, who had unseated Rockefeller in 1970 and [[J. William Fulbright]] in 1974.  

After his 1972 reelection,  President Nixon recruited Johnson to serve in either the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, which [[George Romney]] of [[Michigan]] was vacating as the secretary, or in the Farmers Home Administration. He chose the FmHA and relocated from Arkansas to Arlington, Virginia. With the inauguration of [[Jimmy Carter]] of Georgia, however, Johnson lost the position and returned to private life and worked in [[Arlington, Texas|Arlington]], Texas (not Virginia). He returned to the FmHA with the inauguration of [[Ronald W. Reagan]], whom he supported in 1980, and was named the deputy administrator for program operations under [[United States Secretary of Agriculture]] John Block of [[Illinois]]. In this capacity, Johnson was often called to testify before U.S. congressional committees and developed a good working relationship with former governor and then Senator Dale Bumpers, who had unseated Rockefeller in 1970 and [[J. William Fulbright]] in 1974.