Maurice Earl Johnson

Maurice was the second of two children of Nugent and Edna Johnson. Maurice lived in Jamestown, Missouri through eighth grade, and in 1943 moved to Kansas City, Missouri. While riding his bicycle along Troost Ave. in Kansas City, he was offered a job as an apprentice butcher, which he accepted, and from then on was *the* expert in cuts of meats! Maurice attended Paseo High School where in his Senior year he was the “Little Blond Star” on the Varsity basketball team. After high school, Maurice started college at Missouri University. His studies were interrupted with a two-year hitch in the Army during the Korean War time frame. Because of Maurice’s experience as a butcher, he was assigned to the Fort Leonard Wood KP unit, and was able to avoid deployment to Korea. After an honorable discharge, he resumed his studies at Missouri University, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 1955.

In 1955 he married Shirley How, and they were married for 64 years. They settled in Independence, Missouri, eventually designing and building his dream home where they lived from 1962 until 2018. Maurice and Shirley had one son, Mark Johnson, who was born on Mother’s Day in 1957. Maurice was employed as an English teacher, and also spent time teaching US Citizenship classes to foreign immigrants. In 1958, Maurice obtained his Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Central Missouri State. Maurice taught at his high school alma mater, Paseo High School, for a brief period, but in 1962 took a position at Nowlin Jr High School, where he taught for the rest of his teaching career.

Maurice was very careful with his money, and was able to retire when he was 50 years old, in 1979. Shirley continued to work for a few more years, at which time, they did some traveling. They visited Europe, Greece, Novia Scotia, and Hawaii. Maurice played tennis as a young man, but his main passion his whole life was fishing. He loved fishing for trout at Bennett Springs, and smallmouth bass on the Jack’s Fork River in southern Missouri. Maurice also took on the role of little league baseball manager for 3 years, winning the division title one of those years. He was a passionate fan of the Missouri Tigers basketball and football teams, as well as the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. He was able to attend two World Series games in his life - both won by the Royals.

Maurice is survived by his son Mark Johnson, Mark’s wife Mary Johnson, and his grandchildren, Megan, Chelsea, and Levi. He was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley Johnson, who passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2020, and his sister Charlotte Johnson.

A Visitation will take place from 12:00pm to 1:00pm on Wednesday, March 17 at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home. We will be celebrating the lives of Shirley and Maurice at 1:00pm. Graveside Committal will follow at 2:00pm in Mount Moriah Cemetery. The Celebration will be Livestreamed and can be viewed by clicking the link below.

In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorial contributions be made to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, 34 Washington Street, Suite 310, Wellesley Hills, MA 0248; https://curealz.org