Arthur Johnson was born in 1892 in Colorado Springs.  His parents, Nels and Laura Johnson, instilled in their son a belief in hard work.  He was conscientious in school, and as a young boy of eight or nine, sold The Saturday Evening Post from door to door.  He also helped his father, who was the Colorado Springs Fire Chief.  Mr. Johnson attended Colorado College but left to pursue job possibilities offered by the oil fields.

Mr. Johnson began his oil career with Franco Petroleum Company (later Midwest Refining Company) of Colorado Springs.  His first responsibility was to transport supplies from Casper to Salt Creek, Wyoming, using teams of horses.  He advanced within the company to become assistant to the president.

He fell in love with Helen Kenney, who was then in Denver raising money for the war effort.  They married in 1918, just before Mr. Johnson went to France to serve as a First Lieutenant in the First Battalion, 355th Infantry during Word War I.  He also participated in the allied occupation of Germany following the war.

Mr. Johnson returned to Colorado after the war and rejoined what had become Midwest Oil Company.  When Standard Oil of Indiana bought the controlling interest in Midwest in 1921, Midwest formed another oil production company, the Argo Oil Company.  Mr. Johnson worked his way to the top, and made enough money to buy out several smaller companies.  In 1932, he formed the Argo Oil Corporation and became its president.  Under Mr. Johnson’s leadership, Argo became one of the country’s top independent oil companies.

Arthur Johnson was tireless in business and community service.  He was a member of the Production Committee of the Petroleum Administration during World War II.  He served over forty years on the Board of Directors of the United Bank of Denver (now Wells Fargo Bank).  He was a Director and Trustee of the Denver Museum of Natural History, and he served as an officer and trustee of many other organizations and clubs, including the Boys Club.  Mr. Johnson also played a large part in founding the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Helen Kenney came to Denver with her family when she was three years old.  Her father, Dr. Franklin Kenney, was a prominent Denver physician and surgeon.  As a young teenager, Helen exhibited her concern for the underprivileged by going door to door to collect pennies for a milk fund for children in the slum areas.  She went to Monticello College in Illinois, and following her marriage to Arthur, she did postgraduate work at Colorado Women’s College and the University of Denver.  During World War II, she organized and operated a desk at Denver Union Station that helped stranded servicemen in need of financial assistance.

Mrs. Johnson was an active volunteer throughout her life.  She was a principal supporter of the Denver Zoological Foundation and chaired its board until 1975.  She was a charter member and later an Honorary Life Member of Planned Parenthood, and she was made an Honorary Juvenile Court Judge in Denver.  In appreciation for her concern for underprivileged children, the Girl Scouts of America named their Denver headquarters in her honor.  She also served as director of both the Central City Opera House Association and the Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation.

Arthur E. and Helen K. Johnson's only child, Barbara, was born in August of 1920 in Denver's Mercy Hospital. Following her education in Denver and New York, she married Gerald R. Hillyard. They had three children: Gerald Ryan, Jr., Lynn Campion-Waddell, and Laurie Kenney Hillyard. After the death of Gerald Hillyard, Barbara married James R. Hartley of Denver, owner Hartley House Interiors, Ltd.,

There are two great-grandchildren of the Johnson's, Ashley Campion-Semler and Berit Campion, and presently, three great-great-grandchildren, Anna, William and Thomas Semler.

The Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation was established in 1948. It is carrying on the legacy of service to Colorado residents under the chairmanship of their granddaughter, Lynn H. Campion.