Margery Laverne Long Johnson

Margery Laverne Long Johnson age 89 of Gainesville entered heaven Saturday October 17, 2020 at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

Margie was born February 2, 1931 in Ludowici, Georgia to the late Philip Virgil & Marita Wall Long. She was a homemaker and a member of the First United Methodist Church in Gainesville. She was preceded in death by her husband, Theodore Robert Johnson, Jr.

Survivors include, sons, Steven Eric (Ann) Johnson of Pacific Grove, CA, Philip Robert Johnson of Manassas, Virginia, & Bruce Alan (Kimberley) Johnson of Gainesville; daughter, Marna Renee Carney of Decatur; sister, Norvelle Alderman of Winter Springs, FL; brother, Jack Long of Macon; 13 grandchildren and several great grandchildren also survive.

Margie and her siblings grew up in coastal Georgia, with daily contact between toes and sand. Their father paved roads and airstrips for military bases throughout Georgia during WW II, then ran a shrimp boat out of Shellman Bluff. In 1948, after Margie graduated from high school in Darien and the shrimp fishery in the sounds was closed, the family sold the boat and moved to Athens. All three children attended the University there. During that time, Margie worked successively as a cashier at the Georgia Theater, a clerk at the Holman Hotel, and an operator for the telephone company. Margie graduated in
1952 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree; her interior design was used for the lobby of the new Myers Hall women’s dormitory. She and her classmates also performed restoration on artwork and gold leaf at the Georgia capitol. After meeting a handsome Navy sailor from the area on New Year’s Eve 1953, she and Bob married on January 2, 1954, at Young Harris Methodist Church in Athens.

The young Navy family moved from Athens, where Steven (Ric) had been born, to an assignment at the U.S. embassy in Rome, Italy; Philip (Bert) was born in the Navy hospital in Livorno. Bob attended Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island (likely with some encouragement at home), and after receiving his commission was assigned to a ship based in Mayport, Florida. After Bruce was born in Athens, the family joined him in Atlantic Beach, Florida. The next duty station was Charleston, South Carolina, for a succession of assignments. During Bob’s multiple deployments, Margie ran the household and raised three active boys.

In 1965, the family moved to Japan for two years, during which Bob sailed aboard cruisers and helped direct Navy operations in Viet Nam. Bob, Margie and the boys moved from a small hotel in Yokosuka, to a tatami-mat-and-shoji-screen rental house near the beach in Hayama, and finally to Navy quarters in Yokohama. Adaptability became a family hallmark. The next moves were to Panama City, Florida; then to Monterey, California, where Marna was born; then to San Diego; and finally, to Alexandria, Virginia for Bob’s last tour at the Pentagon. Retirement from the Navy led to a move to Guntersville, Alabama, and
finally to the house on Lake Lanier, Gainesville, built in 1984 to Margie’s design.

Bob and Margie at last set down roots, becoming active at First United Methodist Church, taking the lead on operations at the local food bank (24 years), and enjoying life on the lake. Margie pursued longtime interests in contract bridge (participating in several groups), history and historical restoration (the historical museum and the Longstreet Society), genealogy (Daughters of the American Revolution), floral design (a competitive judge for Garden Club of Georgia), and community service (United Methodist Women). Only health issues prompted her to stick close to home in later years. She will be missed by
her extended family and all who knew her.

Graveside services will be held 2:00 p.m. Sunday October 25, 2020 at the Alta Vista Cemetery. Margery’s visitation room will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Thursday Oct. 22, 2020, Friday Oct. 23, 2020 & on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. for anyone who wants to drop by to pay their respects. The family will receive friends after the service at the cemetery on Sunday.

Due to the current pandemic, if you are going to attend on Sunday please follow all CDC guidelines with social distancing and face masks.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that contributions be made to the Georgia Mountain Food Bank.

Please share online condolences and memories of Margery at www.wardsfh.com. Ward’s Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Margery Long Johnson.

Ward’s Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Gainesville. “A Family Funeral Home”

Ward’s Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Gainesville. “A Family Funeral Home”