She was born January 19, 1935, in Meadow Bridge, West Virginia to parents Emmett E. Spade and Ethel Patterson Spade. After graduating from the local high school in 1952, she moved to Washington D.C. where she worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation until she married and moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she worked for the Western Electric Corporation.
Loretta divorced from her first husband and transferred to Pacific Bell Telephone in Sacramento, California in July of 1968, working in the “coin” department, in the days before cell phones, when pay telephones were the only mobile option. In April of 1974 she transferred to Fresno, California and supervised coin telephone collections over an extremely large territory throughout the Central Inland and Central Coast of California. She married Raymond P. Johnson on November 16, 1978, retired from Pacific Bell in 1987 with a combined service of 30 years, and then spent much of her ensuing time caring for grandchildren Adam and Emily. To this day, her grandchildren and great grandchildren have called her "Tutu", the Hawaiian name for Grandma – and no, she was not Hawaiian, she just loved Hawaii where she and Ray had a timeshare. In 1995 Loretta and Ray moved from Fresno to their beloved home in Shell Beach, California, where they lived together until Ray’s passing in 2017. Loretta continued to live in her home until March of this year.
Loretta is survived by her sister Sara Kay Spade-Yost, brother Michael Spade and wife Cleitus, and many members of the extended Spade and Patterson families. She is also survived by her stepson Eric Johnson and his wife Pam, their children Adam Johnson and wife Dalisay, Emily Johnson Dudley and husband Blake, and their precious young ones Cooper Dudley and Corbin Dudley, as well as stepdaughter Jan Stoeckle and her husband Jeff. She was predeceased by her parents Emmett and Ethel, her husband Ray, and siblings Calvin Spade, James Spade, and Geneva (Geep) Spade Butner.
Loretta’s wishes were for no funeral so there will be a private burial service for the family on June 23 in Fresno, where she’ll be laid to rest by her husband Ray. Condolences and memories may be sent online to www.StephensandBean.com. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be sent to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) or the National Wildlife Federation; she was a longtime supporter of both. Loretta was much loved, much loving, and is much missed.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.stephensandbean.com for the Johnson family.
