Morris Johnson, 54; wrestler became a family therapist

Morris X. Johnson, 54, of Mount Airy, a former amateur wrestling champion who later was a family therapist, died Saturday, April 23, of complications from diabetes at Wissahickon Hospice in Philadelphia.

Mr. Johnson was born in Nashville and reared in Sacramento, Calif. He took up wrestling in his sophomore year at Sacramento High School to stay in shape for baseball, according to a remembrance on the website thecaliforniawrestler.com. But after falling in love with wrestling, he decided to pursue it.

At San Francisco State University, Mr. Johnson was an NCAA Division II finalist in the heavyweight class in 1983 and won that class in 1984. His college career record was 79-9.

He broke the school's then-record of 18 pins during the 1983-84 season, the website said, and was given the Wrestler of the Year award by the Bay Area Wrestling Officials Association in 1984.

Mr. Johnson was the Pan American Games Champion in 1986 and was an alternate in both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Greco-Roman wrestling, in which competitors use only their arms and upper bodies to attack, was introduced into the ancient Olympics in 708 B.C.

Later, he graduated from San Francisco State and was inducted into the school's hall of fame and the California Hall of Fame.

Mr. Johnson became assistant coach for the Gators at his alma mater, and later helped coach wrestling at Arizona State and the University of Pennsylvania.

"Throughout his wrestling career, Morris fostered love of wrestling in students across the country," his family said in a tribute.

He even encouraged the team at Chestnut Hill Academy, where his son, Desmond, wrestled until he graduated.

Mr. Johnson received a master's degree in counseling at San Francisco State and did advanced study in that field at Bryn Mawr College.

He worked as a psychologist, specializing in family therapy and children of domestic abuse, at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Center and later the Delaware County Intermediate Unit.

Mr. Johnson presented national workshops and training seminars on issues such as cultural diversity, mental health, and aspects of family therapy.

In his spare time, he enjoyed reading, gardening, cooking, and being an amateur cartoonist. Above all, he was a gifted conversationalist, quick to offer empathy and words of wisdom, with an effortless laugh and a tone of genuine sincerity, his family said.

He wrote self-effacing accounts of his wrestling bouts on TheMat.com forum, including a 2010 description of a 1984 exhibition match with David Schultz, a member of the former Team Foxcatcher Wrestling based in Newtown Square.

"I prepared to hit him with my famous double over, hip toss. Somehow though, instead of my heel and calf catching his knee and thigh, sending him flying over my hip, Dave took a little step backwards and around to his right," Mr. Johnson wrote.

"The next thing I recall was my head, back and shoulders all hitting the mat at approximately the same time, with pretty remarkable force.

"I noticed Dave's wrestling shoes and I recall thinking 'Oh, wow, Dave and I wear the same kind of wrestling shoes.' It took a few minutes before I realized that I was looking at my own foot, planted nicely right next to my face. Well, at least I knew where to look for it after the match!" he wrote.

(Schultz was later killed by Foxcatcher's organizer, John E. du Pont, on his Delaware County estate.)

In addition to his son, Mr. Johnson is survived by his former wife, Ellen Fishman-Johnson, to whom he was married for 28 years, and a daughter, Isadora.

A celebration of his life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 21, at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martins Lane. Burial is private.

Donations may be made to the Beat the Streets Philadelphia wrestling program via http://btsphilly.org.

bcook@phillynews.com

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