CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW)- “There was nobody in our department that built relationships like him.” 

“You just don’t see it anymore, it’s just not something that occurs, the only way you get to 49 years is to go through those 49 years.”

These are the words of Lt. Colin Clements, and Capt. Matthew McBee, respectively, of the University of Virginia Police Department about their former colleague, security guard Jackie Johnson, who passed away suddenly Monday.

Working in the often high-stress, intense environment at UVA Health, Johnson displayed positivity, excitement, and selflessness, his colleagues told Cville Right Now.

“We deal with people who don’t want to be dealt with,” McBee said. “We deal with those situations, and as a result our staff members and people and colleagues that we work with on a daily basis are sucked into those things because their a part of it, having that positive relationship with Jackie in times when everything was fine paid dividends when it came to more intense situations.”

Johnson started at the University in 1977, as working hospital security at UVA Health’s West Complex (then the main hospital building), and served the UVA community in various assignments across Grounds before returning to the UVA Medical Center where he served up until his passing.

McBee, who began with the university in 2009 as a police officer before working alongside Johnson at the Medical Center, recalled chatting with the veteran guard about the history of the school, and recalled how Johnson talked about the many changes he had witnessed during his tenure.

“When it came to changes there was never pushback,” Clements said. “It was always excitement, everything that was changed was met with an open mind, he has seen a lot of departmental change over the last 49 years and I have never seen him cross about it, just excited about the future.”

But the most unique aspect of Johnson, according to his colleagues, was how he interacted with other people, both with his friends, and with those he served.

When it came to the latter, Clements remembered shadowing him when he first started at UVA Health, and later working with him as a part of his regular duties.  He watched Johnson take a uniquely proactive and genuinely caring approach to helping the patients, many of whom suffered from debilitating mental health challenges.

“It was never a ‘That’s not my job’ or a ‘Let me find you a resource to help you,'” he said. “It was, ‘I’m gonna work through this for you and see if I can help figure it out.'”

Clements also mentioned that the reactive nature of the security profession limited many of his colleagues in having positive interactions with people, a problem Johnson managed to navigate.

“Some do it well, some don’t seek out interactions,” Clements said. “Jackie was one of those people to seek out interactions in any way that he could.”

McBee lamented that in his latest position, he didn’t get to see Johnson much.  However, those times they did cross paths were special.

 “When I did see him he’d say, ‘Hey Captain, haven’t seen ya.’ It never felt like he was calling me out. It felt like, ‘I want to see you, I want to talk to you, and hear how you’re doing.’” 

Clements and McBee said they marveled at Johnson’s ability to never lose site of his focus on helping others.

“We lose that in a work setting, we get focused on other things,” McBee said “he would always focus back to that, sometimes you don’t realize what you have till its gone…he was just so a unique person in that, he was always happy to see you, and you were always happy to see him.” 

The picture the two paint of Johnson, shows a man whose drive, care, and pride in his work, for 49 years, helped others to find happiness in a job that often takes both a physical and emotional toll. 

“He developed, maintained, and fostered relationships in a positive way like no other.” Clements said.