Lora Elise Johnson

Lora Elise Johnson, 64, died of congestive heart failure on the evening of Aug. 8, 2024, at her home in Arlington, Texas. Though she strongly disliked the August heat, it seemed the weather cooled a bit to ease her passage.

She is best known as the author and illustrator of Mr. Scott’s Guide to the Enterprise, which holds a reputation as one of the most popular and important Star Trek reference books. Her other official Star Trek works are also well regarded, as is her Star Wars Technical Journal. She produced numerous blueprints and technical drawings for Lost in Space, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and many others.

Mr. Scott’s Guide was so highly regarded that she was invited by Mike and Denise Okuda to consult on a 3-D digital model of the USS Enterprise for the Gene Roddenberry Archive in 2022. The archive will also include some of her research materials.

Lora proudly called herself Arvel Crynyd’s mom, a reference to the Y-Wing pilot she officially named in the Star Wars Technical Journal and for whom Star Wars fans created fan fiction and a full backstory.

She will be fondly remembered by fans, authors, and illustrators as an important influence and inspiration.

Lora was also a widely respected novelist, writing several novels for the Christian market, including The Last Guardian and Ice, both of which were Christy Award finalists. All her books were published under the name Shane Johnson.

A gifted illustrator and designer, Lora did not seek fame or prestige, but her work has been featured in her hometown area for decades, including wayfinding signage for the Dallas Zoo and artwork for fan conventions. She designed the iconic logo for Dino’s Subs, which has graced its building on South Collins Street in Arlington since the early 1980s.

Lora found a community in Second Life, where she rebuilt her Fort Worth home, along with sets from Mary Tyler Moore, the Alamo, the USS Enterprise, Supercar, and more, all accurate in detail and scale. She was a beloved member of her church community there and will be honored with a permanent tribute in the virtual world.

Growing up in the 1960s, Lora was profoundly inspired by NASA’s Mercury program and especially the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. This led her to become such an avid spaceflight historian that she produced a documentary, Apollo 13: Flight for Survival, and served as a consultant on the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks-produced HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

Lora was a lover of science fiction series from Lost in Space and Space: 1999 to Buck Rogers and The Six Million-Dollar Man. She was a champion of smaller, lesser-known films that she felt were overlooked gems and enjoyed classic monster movies. She particularly loved those curated by Svengoolie, with whom she shared a taste for the kooky, the spooky, and the goofy. She loved things that made her laugh in spite of herself, perhaps especially if they were shamefully corny.

What never made her laugh was the Dallas Cowboys’ persistent inability to win another Super Bowl, though she remained a fan.

A collector of science-fiction books, toys, and model kits, Lora was also an accomplished model builder whose work was published in model magazines. Several of her model builds and dioramas won awards, including 1st Place at the North Texas I.P.M.S. Scalefest in 1990. She also designed the interior of a major USS Enterprise model kit for Polar Lights.

Lora herself was a light and a blessing to those who got to experience her warmth, her intelligence, her kindness, and her deeply gentle spirit. For all her accomplishments, the greatest mark she leaves on this world is on the hearts of those she knew and loved.

She was born Oct. 4, 1959, in Dallas and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Jacksonville, Fla., and Charleston, S.C. She attended Eastern Hills High School in Fort Worth and St. Andrew’s Parish High School in Charleston.

She is preceded in death by parents Ronald and Sandra Johnson and dear friends Stephen, Dan, and David, along with her dog Tiny, her rabbits Scooter and Rory, and her cats, Samantha, Baby, Tabitha, Missy, and Abby. She is survived by her son Daniel Johnson, of Bradley, Ill., brother Shaun Johnson, of Kathleen, Ga., friend and caregiver Kevin C. Neece, of Fort Worth, and her dearly loved cats, Princess and Toby.

Lora’s family wishes to thank her caregivers, Tiwanna Gray, Samantha Glasscock, Neisha Johnson, and Cheyenne Simmons. The family would also like to thank the doctors and nursing staff at Arlington Memorial Hospital, her former PCP Dr. Karen King of Dallas and her Fort Worth cardiologists Dr. Vassilis Dimas and Dr. Yuvaraj Kumar, whom she called her favorite doctor ever.

Thanks to Walter Koenig, Mike and Denise Okuda, Larry Nemecek, the late Jimmy Doohan, and the Star Trek fan community for welcoming Lora into the Trek family and bringing attention to her talents.

If you were Lora’s friend, if you showed her kindness, if her work mattered to you, and if your life was touched by hers, we thank you and we hope you will join us in continuing to honor her life and memory.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Galileo Church in Fort Worth, the North Texas TRANSportation Network, or the ASPCA.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 19 at Galileo Church, 5860 Interstate 20 Service Rd., Fort Worth.

The staff at Moore Funeral Home encourages family and friends to express their fond memories, expressions of sympathy and additional condolences to the family of Lora Elise Johnson, by visiting www.moore-funeralhome.com.