Doris Lacy Johnston

Born September 9, 1931, she was raised in Cherokee County. She attended Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville and married Lynn H. Johnston at the Woodstock United Methodist Church on December 22, 1950.

Doris was a teacher throughout her life and always fondly remembered her career in the classroom at Woodstock Elementary. She taught and raised her own three children with great devotion.

Doris’s enduring passion was to share her deep faith in God and America with the children she taught at Chamblee First United Methodist Church. It was a year-round mission, extending into the summer, when she taught Vacation Bible School and routinely took groups of children to Camp Glisson in North Georgia. Family vacations would only begin when Vacation Bible School was done.

Her commitment to her faith found additional expression in her membership and leadership in the United Methodist Women.

Her deep family love and pride extended to her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren.

They learned from her an appreciation of art, books and the natural glories of sites nearby and far away. Her favorite was the family’s North Georgia mountain home near Jasper which she herself named Deer Tracks and to which she welcomed the family for its celebrations.

Doris had a corporate family that extended beyond her own family and her church family. As her husband Lynn pursued a career at Life Insurance Company of Georgia which became a part of ING, she was often by his side. Southerners and global insurance leaders alike appreciated her quiet, welcoming, and gracious style. Largely unknown was the fact that she carried her chairman-husband’s current business vision in her pocketbook in the form of speech texts on three by five index cards.

Her focus was always on her faith and her family. She will be remembered and missed by all she loved.

She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Lynn H. Johnston and their three children, Sharon J. Bartels (and spouse William), Ronald H. Johnston (and spouse Cheryl) and Carolyn J. Johnston. Grand-children by Sharon are Heather Lynn Attaway (and spouse Brandon), Mitchell Rigsby (and spouse Katie), William Bartels and Wesley Bartels. Grand-children by Ron are Jenni Lang (and spouse Jason), Todd Johnston, Sara Johnston, Carolyn Johnston, Laura Johnston, Jack Johnston and Thomas Johnston. Grand-child by Carolyn is Savannah Lee.

Doris had twin great-granddaughters, Ella Lacy and Addison, by Heather and Brandon Attaway.

She is also survived by her much loved Uncle, Jasper Wray Lacy of Orlando, Fla. along with numerous nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Lacy and her sister Kathryn Simmons, all of Canton, Georgia.

Visitation with the family will be held on March 8, 2012 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at H.M. Patterson Oglethorpe Hill Chapel, 4550 Peachtree Road, with services to be held at Chamblee First United Methodist Church at 11 am on March 9, 2012. Services, with the Reverend Dr. Royeese Stowe officiating and assisted by longtime friend of the family, the Reverend Dr. John Minter.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be sent to the Chamblee First United Methodist Church. 4147 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Chamblee, Georgia 30341 for the "Doris L. Johnston Memorial Fund", established previously for teaching the children of the church. Interment will be at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs.