Arthur L Johnston

Arthur L. Johnston, 92, died at his home at Harbor House Assisted Living on June 17, 2014, under the loving care of Hospice of Marion County.

Born on June 23, 1921, in Gillham, Ar, Arthur was the ninth of the thirteen children of Nettie McDaniel Johnston and Thomas Calvin Johnston. He was graduated from Gilham High School in 1939 and attended Magnolia A & M College, where he studied English. He enlisted in the U. S. Navy on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He served as a surgical nurse from 1941 to 1946 on board the USS Highlands, which participated in the invasions of Iwo Jima, the Marshall Islands, and Okinawa. He remembers seeing the raising of the U. S. flag on Iwo Jima and was present in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, for the surrender of Japanese officials to General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, on the deck of the USS Missouri.

Following his military service, Arthur worked as a surgical nurse in Washington, PA, and later as a cattle breeder and dairy herdsman in Pennsylvania and Florida. Throughout his life, Arthur enjoyed gardening and loved to share his vegetables with friends and neighbors. He also loved music and poetry and could recite poems that he learned in grade school as well as say the alphabet backwards up until the final week of his life.

On October 4, 1946, Arthur married the love of his life, Iris Van Davier, who survives him. They have four daughters: Dr. Barbara (Mrs. Thomas J.) Frieling of Tallahassee, FL; Terri (Mrs. Ronnie) Stodghill of Dunnellon, FL; Iris Jean (wife of Philip Schmidt) of Seminole, FL; and Donna (Mrs. Raymond) Sapp of Ft. Worth, TX. Their niece, Linda Bergen (Mrs. Frank Losee of Dade City, FL) lived with the family as an adopted daughter following the death of her mother Louise in 1958.

Arthur is survived by seven grandchildren: Garth Frieling of Weaverville, NC; Jennifer Stodghill Bond Gibbs (Mrs. Luke Gibbs) of Dunnellon, FL; Prasad (Tom) Stodghill of Ocala, FL; Ian Johnston-Schmidt, a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX; Savannah Johnston-Schmidt, a student at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA; Matthew Sapp of Ft. Worth, TX, and Adam Sapp of Albuquerque, NM. He has seven great-grandchildren: Savannah and Patrick Bond and Garrett, Mattie, and Griffin Gibbs of Dunnellon, and Emily and Brooke Stodghill of Ocala. Arthur is also survived by his one remaining sibling: Miss Maxine Johnston of Batson, TX.

A life-long Baptist, Arthur was a member of Morriston Baptist Church. A graveside service with military honors will be held at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens at 5740 S. Pine Avenue in Ocala on Saturday, June 21, at 9 AM. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, those friends who wish to honor Arthur's memory make a contribution to the American Bible Society (Bibles for Troops) at 1865 Broadway, New York, NY 10023-7505 or Samaritan's Purse at PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607.