I would like to say a few things about my friend Curt Johnson who passed away this week.

I’ve known Curt Johnson for eleven years. In this time we have become close friends talking on the phone for hours about politics, guns, plants, and reptiles. Curt had an extensive gun collection as well as one of the best venomous reptile collections in the world. Curt was a plumber by trade.

He loved his animals and kept them in perfect condition by cleaning and feeding everyday. His animals were always huge, beautiful, and most were very prolific. He took pride in the fact that his animals, many of which were considered the most deadly snakes on earth, were docile and easy to handle. He believed proper handling gave the snake nothing to fear so they were not aggressive. He never had a serious bite to my knowledge. He once kept me on the phone 5 hours after I was bitten because he wanted to be sure I was okay.

He liked seeing his animals breed successfully but did not like dealing with people when he sold them. He often sold them to Glades because it was the easiest way to get rid of surplus without any hassle. He worked for Joe Fauci at Southeast for years and considered Joe a very close friend.

If Curt considered you a friend you new it because he went out of his way to hold friends close.

Curt kept to himself and did not like public forums because he felt they brought unwanted attention from law makers and people who would support more restrictive wildlife laws. He felt the same about gun laws and talked for hours about it.

At the funeral his dad was happy to learn how respected Curt was by his peers and that he was very successful with the things he cared about. Everyone that attended the funeral expressed their love and admiration and a since of loss.

While Curt would not have liked me writing anything about him on a public forum I felt I should share some of my thoughts about him. Let’s make this forum a positive expression of our appreciation of a great herper that we have lost.

Robbie Keszey
Glades Herp Farm Inc.

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