Keen Johnson - Later Life and Death

Later Life and Death

Beginning in 1940, Johnson was a member of the State Democratic National Committee, serving until 1948. On June 6, 1942, he was named to the board of regents of Eastern State College (now Eastern Kentucky University) a position he held for eight years. On January 1, 1944, he was named a special assistant to the president of Reynolds Metals, advising him on postwar unemployment problems. He became vice-president of public relations for the company in 1945.

Because of his rapport with union leaders, President Harry S. Truman and Kentucky Senator Alben Barkley asked Johnson to accept an appointment to the newly-created post of Undersecretary of Labor in 1946. In August 1946, Johnson took a leave of absence from Reynolds and accepted the appointment. He frequently attended President Truman's cabinet meetings due to the illness of Secretary Lewis B. Schwellenbach.

In mid-1947, Johnson returned to Reynolds. In 1950, he became a member of the company's board of directors. In this capacity, he organized meetings of sales executives and traveled extensively to promote the company's aluminum products. He retired from Reynolds in January 1961.

In 1960, Johnson sought a seat in the U.S. Senate. He defeated John Y. Brown, Sr. in the Democratic primary, but was unable to unseat Republican incumbent John Sherman Cooper in the general election. In 1961 and 1964, he was appointed to the state board of education. He served as a delegate to an assembly to revise the state constitution in 1964. In 1965, the University of Kentucky honored him with a Centennial Award and inducted him into its Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He died February 7, 1970 in Richmond, Kentucky, and is buried in Richmond Cemetery.