Jeanette Thomas Johnson

Her parents and her sisters Frances Gann, Dorothy Hudson, Lois Hill, Ann Powers, Elsie Hitchings, and Betty Antley pre-deceased her, as did her brother, James “Butch” Thomas. She is survived by sisters Norma Brinn and Carolyn Bradshaw (Ed).

Jeanette was valedictorian of the Class of 1953 at Great Bridge High School and earned a B.A. in Mathematics at VPI (now Virginia Tech) in 1957. She played on the VPI women’s basketball team, was active in the Wesley Foundation, served as an officer in Hillcrest Dormitory, and was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She met Wendell Johnson, the love of her life, in freshman chemistry class, and they were married on June 9, 1957, the day of her college graduation.

In the early years of marriage while Wendell finished college and entered the U.S. Army, she lived in Blacksburg, Arlington, and Newport News, Virginia. Before raising children, she worked for the Virginia Highway Department, performing elevation and curve calculations for superhighway design; for the Navy Bureau of Ships at the David Taylor Model Basin as a UNIVAC programmer; and at Warwick Junior High as a math teacher.

In 1960, with her husband and infant son, she moved to Huntsville, Alabama as part of the space race. She was an active member of Highland, St. Paul, and Monte Sano United Methodist Churches. During the Civil Rights Movement years of the 1960s, she volunteered regularly as a playschool teacher and as a tutor at Butler Terrace. Known as a gracious hostess, excellent seamstress and tailor, cook, baker, cake decorator, ceramicist, gardener, creative party planner, and strategic thinker, she tried her hand at many endeavors—and was genuinely good at all of them. She continued volunteering with many community agencies and instilled a commitment to community service in her five children.

As her children grew, she returned to school for classes in interior design and in computer programming. She volunteered as a financial counselor and worked as an advisor in a program that offered low-income families paths to home ownership.

After moving to Midlothian, Virginia in 1989, she became an active member of Bon Air United Methodist Church, where she was recognized with a lifetime membership in United Methodist Women. For many years, she personally planned and held a plant sale, sharing plants from her own gardens, raising thousands of dollars annually for local and world missions. She joyfully prepared and served meals for the Caritas shelter program each winter.

Jeanette doted on her grandchildren, hosting a grandkids’ camp for them for several summers. A board game aficionado and championship-caliber checkers player, she let her grandchildren believe they bested her, but came back to teach them a thing or two if they bragged about their victories. Her snickerdoodle cookies were beloved by all.

Jeanette is survived by her husband of 67 years, Wendell Johnson, and by four of her five children, Ed Johnson (Eliza Menninger), Lynette Johnson, Lisa Lynn Smith (Larry), and Michelle Laveri (Tony). Her daughter Teresa Hipp passed away in 2023. Additionally she is survived by nine grandchildren: Bill Johnson (Jeannie), Kate Johnson (Erik Masias), Jake Patterson, Emma Patterson, Will Patterson, Jonathan Lambert, Joshua Hipp (Daisy), Annie Hipp, and Rachel Smith. She is also survived by several great grandchildren.

Jeanette cared deeply and loved with abandon. She will be remembered and missed.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 1 pm at Bon Air United Methodist Church, 1645 Buford Rd, Richmond, VA 23235.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Bon Air United Methodist Church in Jeanette's name. Donations will go to the school supplies ministry.