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Craig Winfield Johnson, surrounded by those he loved, passed away on Saturday night, October 3, at 9:18 PM at Stanford Hospital, the victim of a sudden and unexpected stroke.
Craig was born in Pasadena, California on 12/28/46, to Marian and Roger Johnson. He grew up in nearby Arcadia, where he excelled in track and debate before matriculating at Yale College, from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1968. After college, he served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, and while there met and married Deborah Kendall, another Peace Corps volunteer, in Addis Ababa before returning to the States. Upon his return he attended Stanford Law School, graduating in 1974, and then joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, as the 14th attorney to join that firm, right at the beginning of the boom of Silicon Valley. With Deborah he raised three sons, Scott, Matthew, and Erik. Craig was a true visionary, quickly grasping the unique intersection of law, technology, and venture capital that the Bay Area afforded. His specialty was dealing with startup technology companies, which abounded then as now, and in 1993 he left WSGR to form Venture Law Group, which dealt exclusively with his special talent for nurturing fledgling startups. He was instrumental in bringing to market such companies as Yahoo!, Hotmail, and Rosetta Inpharmatics, and cofounded Garage Technology Ventures, Concept2Company, and Financial Engines. Craig's latest venture was cofounding Virtual Law Partners in 2008, yet another visionary advance in the provision of legal services. In this labor of love he found his heart's desire, and on August 15th of this year he married RoseAnn Rotandaro, one of his cofounders, in a beautiful and celebratory ceremony at his house in Portola Valley. Craig and RoseAnn had just completed a magical honeymoon, sailing the Mediterranean and cycling in the Slovenian Alps, shortly before Craig's untimely death. He was only 62. Craig's impact far exceeded his legal accomplishments. His goal was always to bring together the best people and brightest ideas, and see that both flourished. He was selfless in his work, and universally regarded as fair, honest, brilliant, and caring. He inspired the best in all around him, and helped them to believe in themselves as much as he believed in them. His friends will miss him dearly, and his family will miss him desperately. He leaves behind his sons Matt and Scott, Matt's wife Desdemona, his loving wife RoseAnn and her son Noah Rogers, his brother Brian and sister-in-law Joan, his Uncle Ken Scott and his wife Sunny, his nephew Derek and niece Kaitlin, and his father Roger. He goes into the embrace of his son Erik and his nephew Christopher, who left this earth before him. Craig will live on in the hearts of the innumerable family, friends, and associates whose lives he graced. |
Craig, at his home in Portola Valley shortly before his passing. 
Craig is pictured here with his wife and VLP co-founder, RoseAnn Rotandaro. |
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