Mary Oliver Johnson, a retired Leflore County educator and longtime member of Greenwood’s New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, was the kind of person who just naturally inspired those around her.
“I can tell you that she was a very energetic lady who just happened to be trapped in a 95-year-old body,” said friend and caretaker Samantha J. Milton.
Mrs. Johnson died Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014, at her Greenwood residence. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at New Zion.
“She made me laugh, she made me cry, and I even saw her life be transformed right before my very eyes,” Milton said.
The Rev. Calvin Collins, pastor of New Zion, called Mrs. Johnson “one of the mothers of the church.”
Mrs. Johnson joined New Zion at an early age and, as an adult, worked in many capacities, especially in the church’s Sunday school ministry. More than a half-century ago, she served as the church’s secretary, according to state Sen. David Jordan, a fellow member of New Zion.
“She really planted a lot of stuff. She had a voice, and people listened to that voice,” said Jordan.
“We all respected her. She never did say much, but she was firm in what she believed,” he said.
Born on Sept. 11, 1918, to the late Plenny and Mary Jane Oliver, Mrs. Johnson was the youngest of four children. She graduated from Stone Street High School and received a bachelor’s degree in education from Mississippi Vocational College, now Mississippi Valley State University.
She taught in the Leflore County and Greenwood public schools for 42 years.
Mrs. Johnson married Frank Johnson in July 1936. The couple had two sons, Frank Jr. and Fred, and a daughter, Verna.
Mrs. Johnson’s daughter preceded her in death.
Jordan said when he joined New Zion in 1956, Mrs. Johnson welcomed him to the congregation that his father, Cleveland Jordan, had been a member of since the late 1930s. Later, as Jordan became active in the civil rights movement, Mrs. Johnson was supportive of his efforts, the Democratic lawmaker said. “She embraced me when I got into public life,” he said.
Collins said Mrs. Johnson was an active member of the church.
“Right before she passed, she was still coming to church almost every Sunday,” he said.
“Just to see older people keep going on is an inspiration.”
Sanders & Sanders Funeral Home of Greenwood is in charge of arrangements.
