Lobenta Comfort Davis Johnson died on August 21, 2019 at Spring Harbor. There will be a private burial on Saturday, August 31, 2019 followed by a memorial service at 10:00 AM at the First Presbyterian Church of Columbus, Georgia. The family will receive friends in the reception hall immediately following the service.
Lobenta was born in Jacksonville, Florida on August 24, 1925 the daughter of Mildred Rowland Carson and Robert Evans Davis. She was named for her maternal grandparents, Lota and Ben Comfort.
Lobenta attended schools in Jacksonville and Tampa and graduated from Lakeland High School. She attended Florida Southern College where she was active in Alpha chi Omega Sorority, the Interlachen Staff, Southern Singers and the Vagabonds.
A lifelong Presbyterian; Lobenta was active in Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly Youth Councils and served as Youth Director at the First Presbyterian Church in Tampa, Florida, where she met and married James V. Johnson, Jr., a Presbyterian minister just graduated from Princeton Seminary. They served churches in Pensacola, Florida, Natchez and Laurel Mississippi, Atlanta, Georgia and the First Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Georgia, where they served for twenty-two years. Lobenta was active in the music programs of all of the churches that they served. While in Columbus, Lobenta enjoyed working at Merrill Lynch for thirteen years.
In Jim’s retirement, they served as interim pastorates at the Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church, the First Presbyterian Church of Thomaston, Georgia, and the Northwest Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. Jim also served as part-time Parish Associate at the Skidaway Island Presbyterian Church. After his death in 1997, Lobenta continued to serve the church for eight years. She was an active member of the BB Chapter of P.E.O.
Lobenta moved to Spring Harbor in Columbus, Georgia in 2005 and enjoyed her time there. She had a huge heart and a quiet, peaceful demeanor that left everyone better for knowing her. She was very devoted to God, her family, and to serving others.
Her parents; her husband, James Vandegrift Johnson, Jr. and her brother, Benjamin Evans Davis, predeceased Lobenta. She is survived by her daughter, Jane Caroline Johnson (husband, Michael Johnson) of Albuquerque, New Mexico; her son, James V. Johnson, III (Nancy) of Charlotte, North Carolina, and four grandsons, Christopher Raymond Johnson, James Michael Johnson, James Vandegrift Johnson, IV, and Edgar Davis Johnson.
Those desiring to make memorial contributions may send them to the First Presbyterian Church Music Fund, 1100 First Avenue, Columbus, Georgia 31901.
