Beloved Henderson journalism teacher, basketball coach dies

Eric Johnston, a beloved Green Valley High School teacher who led the school’s paper to repeatedly win the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s top high school journalism prizes, has died at age 48.

Johnston taught journalism and English classes, advised the InvestiGator newspaper and coached basketball at Green Valley in Henderson. He was a workaholic who rarely missed a day of school and often stayed up until at least 11:30 p.m., tinkering with yearbook pages and checking the newspaper.

But he was also so modest that his former principal, Jeff Horn, said he had to be coaxed into photos when his students won awards. He preferred to have the focus be on them.

“It’s hard to find teachers who are as dedicated as he was,” said Jackie Carducci, who started Green Valley’s journalism program and later supervised Johnston as a dean. “He wasn’t in it for a paycheck. He taught his kids to have pride in what they wrote and published.”

Johnston died late Friday following two strokes, the second of which caused a brain bleed, his wife, Brittany Johnston, said.

He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, his wife said, and grew up on a farm. He graduated from the University of Iowa and wanted to be a journalist, but eventually became a teacher instead.

And he was really good at teaching. Horn said he was the kind of teacher who motivated students, helped them do their best work and celebrated their accomplishments. His classroom walls were covered with student awards.

After students graduated, he stayed in touch, Brittany Johnston said. To some, he became a father figure.

Joshua Berson, a rising senior who will be the co-editor-in-chief this coming year, said Johnston cared deeply about his students and loved seeing their joy when a new issue of the paper came out.

“To me, he wasn’t really a teacher. He was more like a mentor,” said Berson, who hopes to pursue a career in journalism. “Everything that I have and will contribute to journalism, I can thank him for it.”

Under Johnston’s supervision, the InvestiGator — named for the school’s Gator mascot — dominated the Review-Journal’s High School Journalism Awards.

It won best newspaper and best news website this year. It also took eight first place awards in categories like feature writing, photography and illustration and page one design.

The paper won top honors in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 as well.

Some of the stories dealt with controversial topics: athletic drug testing, conflict over school plays, COVID-19.

Eric Johnston made sure the paper told stories accurately and included both sides, said Carducci.

“He wanted everybody to know the facts,” Brittany Johnston said.

He was dedicated to his job, but had interests outside of school too. He followed current affairs closely and loved Eric Clapton — for whom he was named — and Stephen King books, she said.

His daughter, Bailey Carpenter, said he had a dry sense of humor and a penchant for bad dad jokes. If she said, “I’m tired,” he’d respond, “Hi, tired. I’m dad.”

Besides his wife and daughter Bailey, Eric Johnston is survived by another daughter, Blair, a son, Milo, and other extended family members.

Current principal Kent Roberts said he knew Johnston’s students had been well-taught when they interviewed him.

“They never came in and asked fluff questions or silly questions,” he said. “They were always, always prepared, without fail.”

Roberts thinks Johnston — that rare teacher who could push students without garnering parent complaints — was irreplaceable. “It’s just going to leave a big hole in our family for a while,” he said, choking up.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.