Surrounded by his loving family, Jerry Wayne Johnson went to be with his Lord and Savior on Saturday July 26, 2014. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, in the Sanctuary of Tifton’s First Baptist Church. Dr. Wayne Roe and Rev. Paul Thomas will officiate and burial will follow at Tift Memorial Gardens. Danny Griffin Jr., Daniel Griffin III, James Dunlap, Jeremy Goss, E. J. Pavy, Don Martin and Hollis Flanders will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Forum Sunday school class and the deacons of Tifton’s First Baptist Church and Jerry’s Cardiac Rehab Group at Tift Regional Medical Center. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, July 29, 2014, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals.
Born in Evansville, Indiana on June 20, 1933, he was the son of Nazareth and Ruby Pittman Johnson. He was the baby of the family and was preceded in death by his two brothers Eugene Johnson, William (Bill) Johnson, and his sister, Juanita Johnson Arhelger.
Having left home to join the Indiana National Guard at the tender age of fourteen and then enlisting in the United States Navy in June 1950, he served his country dutifully for 25 years. He rose to the ranks of Senior Master Chief Signalman – E8 and served during the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. It was during his service and appointment to Green Cove Springs Naval Base that he met the love of his life of almost fifty-nine years, Joyce McMillan Johnson.
Together they traveled the world and had tours of duty to many points in the United States, Europe and the Mediterranean, including Pearl Harbor, Charleston, Cuba, Lebanon, Turkey, Italy, France, and Spain, just to name a few. His three loving children were born on Naval Stations around the world and country. Ruby Lynn Johnson Dunlap was born in Nice, France; David Eric Johnson was born in Portsmouth, Virginia; and his youngest daughter, Tammy Johnson Griffin was born in San Diego, California. His family served alongside of him as a military family until his retirement in July 14, 1972.
Retirement did not bring rest, as Jerry began life as a civilian with Independent Life and Accident Insurance Company for the next 18 years. Upon his retirement from the Insurance industry, and at the young age of 60, he once again began another career of his family trade of painting. Jerry went on to perfect his craft by taking numerous faux painting classes from Palm Beach, Florida to Scotland.
His career path was just what he did, and not who he was. Jerry served his country, his family, his business, and more importantly, his God. He not only talked his faith, but walked his faith. He will forever be known as a kind-hearted man, who always gave of himself with a cheerful heart and smile. He served his church, First Baptist Church of Tifton as a Sunday school teacher, an usher, who always greeted everyone with a hug and a smile, and as a deacon. He was also a member of the Masonic Lodge, a Gideon, and a vital part of the I-75 Ministry Team.
The lives Jerry Wayne Johnson touched will never be the same. He leaves behind to carry on his legacy, his wife Joyce Johnson; son and daughter-in-law, David and Pam Johnson; daughters and sons-in-law, Ruby and James Dunlap and Tammy and Danny Griffin; eight grandchildren, Carly Davis, Ivey Davis Goss and husband, Jeremy, Amy Davis Fulson and husband, Michael, Sara Johnson, Anna Marie Johnson Pavy and husband, E. J., Christen Johnson, Daniel Griffin, and Alyssa Griffin; and six great grandchildren; Tucker Goss, McKinley Goss, Mikaela Fulson, Alecxander Fulson, Ava Griffin, and Olivia Pavy. He is also survived by his brother, Don Johnson of Vero Beach, Florida.
Flowers will be accepted or memorial gifts may be made to the Pregnancy Care Center, P. O. Box 7186, Tifton, GA 31793; Gideons International, Tifton Gideon Camp, P. O. Box 7051, Tifton, GA 31793; the American Heart Association, Tifton office, 222 Chestnut Avenue, Tifton, GA 311794; the American Cancer Society, 323 Pine Avenue, Suite 100, Albany, GA 31701; or the First Baptist Church Memorial Fund or the I-75 Ministry, 404 Love Avenue, Tifton, GA 31794.