Reprinted from The News & Observer
Durham, North Carolina – Shortly after his 90th birthday, Professor Sheridan “Dan” Johns III died peacefully at home at Croasdaile Village in Durham, NC on Thursday, May 1st, 2025.
Dan was a distinguished political scientist renowned for his extensive scholarship on South Africa focusing on liberation movements, communism, and resistance during the apartheid era.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin he graduated from Amherst College and completed his PhD at Harvard University. Dan taught political science at Duke University from 1970-2000. He was also visiting lecturer at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, the University of Zimbabwe, Yale University, University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape in South Africa.
Dan was a loving and caring educator, husband, father and grandfather. He was an avid Duke basketball fan and passionate traveler. His most recent trip was to Mongolia.
He is survived by his son Sheridan W Johns IV and his wife Dr. Christa Tecklenburg Johns. Dan and Christa met in 1952 at an international student work camp in southern France and would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this June.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, May 16th at 3 p.m. in the Croasdaile Village Chapel.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Published by The News & Observer from May 9 to May 11, 2025.
