RWH – Remembering Johnny Isakson

I was so very sad to learn today about the passing of Johnny Isakson. He was a pioneering Georgia Republican who served in both houses of the Georgia General Assembly and United States Congress. He carried our banner as the 1990 Republican nominee for Governor.

My most powerful memory of Johnny Isakson is personal, not political. In 1995, I went deep sea fishing with Johnny and his two sons. We stayed at a very old and rustic hotel in the Bahamas – no TV sets or telephones in the rooms.
                     
I learned on that trip – about 15 miles from the coast of the Bahamas – that deep sea fishing is not for me. I have never been more sick to my stomach and spent most of the next eight hours hugging the rail of the fishing boat. But what I remember most – something I will likely never forget – is that when we snagged a big fish, Johnny helped me up from the deck and into the “fighting chair” so that I could reel it in and be able to say that I had  “caught a fish” on the trip. 

It is a battle to reel in a big fish even if you have not spent hours vomiting and there was a big part of me that was not up for the fight. But there was no way I could give up with Johnny standing there at my side encouraging me.

My Dad had died earlier in the year. I have always felt like he was there with me on the boat, using Johnny’s voice to encourage me and watching with pride. 

Johnny Isakson was a very good father and a very good man. Please lift his wife, children and grandchildren up in prayer. And may he rest in peace.



David J. Shafer 
Chairman
Georgia Republican Party