William R. Johnson

April 8, 1920 - September 6, 2014

Johnson, William Roscoe April 8, 1920 - September 06, 2014 William R. (Johnny) Johnson; devoted Husband, Father, Grandfather, and Great Grandfather passed away on September 06, 2014 in Murphy, Texas, at the age of 94 years. A native of Choccolocco, AL., Johnny left the family farm and moved to Port Arthur in 1938 where he met his future wife, Marion E. Siebelitz. They were married on March 19, 1944. She preceded him in death on February 9, 2004. He is also preceded in death by his infant son, Peter Elars Johnson. Johnny enlisted in the US Army in 1941 and served in Europe during WWII in the 95th Infantry Division, 377th Infantry Regiment. He rose to the rank of 1st Sergeant, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and later received a battlefield commission to 2nd Lieutenant. Later in life he was honored for his WWII service to France, with induction as a Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor. Following WWII he joined the Texas National Guard and in 1966, retired as a Major from the 111th Engineers Battalion. After the war, Johnny worked for Gulf Oil as an analytical tester in their laboratories, until retiring in 1982. He lived most of his life in Port Arthur, before moving to Wildwood, TX in 1983 and then to the Dallas, TX area in 2000. He was a long time member of St Paul Lutheran Church in Groves, Trinity Lutheran Church in Port Arthur, and Messiah Lutheran Church in Plano, TX. He is survived by his children: William R. Johnson Jr. and his wife Brenda, of Salem, OR; Karen E. Johnson and her husband Mike Mitchell, of Annandale, VA; Timothy C. Johnson and his wife Marla, of Murphy, TX, and James F. Johnson of Westland, MI. He had 11 Grandchildren: Peter Mitchell (Jeni); Matthew Mitchell; Lisa Johnson Felthous (Erik); Jennifer Johnson Davis (Nathan); Julianna Johnson; Erin Johnson; Philip Johnson (Alex); Devan Johnson McCarroll (Sean); Kate Mitchell, Andrew Johnson; and James Johnson Jr. (Holly). He was also blessed with six Great Grandchildren: Reagan Felthous, Mackenna Felthous, Hudson Davis, Abigail Felthous, Helene Davis, and Austin Mitchell.He is also survived by his younger sister, Launa McCarthy of Walnut Creek, CA. Visitation will be will be at Clayton Thompson Funeral Home in Port Arthur on Tuesday September 9th between the hours of 6:00 and 8:00 PM. A funeral service will be held at Clayton Thompson Funeral Home in Port Arthur on Wednesday September 10th at 2:00 pm. Interment will immediately follow, at Green Lawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in his memory to the Rev. F.W. Siebelitz Scholarship fund at Concordia University, Austin.