Johnny G. Wyatt

Johnny G. Wyatt went to join his Higher Power on October 8, 2010, after a single-vehicle accident Friday evening. Funeral services will be Tuesday, October 12, at 2:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Bossier City. Officiating will be Rev. David Dietzel of the First Methodist Church of Bossier City where Johnny Wyatt was a church member. Visitation will be Monday, October 11, from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. also at the First Baptist Church. Burial will follow the services at Hill Crest Memorial Cemetery in Haughton. The Honorable Mayor Lorenz “Lo” Walker has ordered flags at Bossier City Hall to fly at half-mast on Tuesday to honor the loss of this dedicated servant to the people of his beloved hometown, Bossier City.

He has served as City Marshal of Bossier City since his first election in 1991. His leadership in that law enforcement position evolved into setting the standard for City Marshal offices across Louisiana. In 2006, he started the Northwest Louisiana Internet Crimes against Children Task Force. His pioneering work using technology to fight online predators and protect children has become a model throughout the region. Gingerbread House honored Johnny with the Guardian Angel Award in 2008 and selected him to be the honoree at their Toast and Roast in 2007. He was scheduled to serve as master of ceremonies at that fundraiser in November. He was honored by opportunities to volunteer his time and energies to community organizations, especially the Military Affairs Council and Barksdale Air Force Base. One of his most outstanding professional attributes was his ability to forge alliances among agencies and groups to collaborate for the greater good, as evidenced by his work to coordinate the arrival of the President at Barksdale on 9/11 and manage emergency services in our community after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. His greatest honor was being called “Marshal Wyatt” and this greatest thrill was being called “Paw-Paw Johnny” or “Papa Johnny.”

Wyatt was a scuba diving instructor and loved to travel. He started the diving sport specialty called Drift Diving. In 1980, he was awarded the first National Association of Underwater Instructors’ Humanitarian Award for his contributions to making scuba diving accessible to those who were physically challenged. He often assisted the Quota Club of Bossier City, a women’s civic organization of which his mother was a founding charter member. He graduated from Bossier High School in 1964 where he was proud to be a member of the Bossier High School Band and attended Louisiana Tech University. After college, he was the CEO of Geneva’s Beauty College, the family-owned business, for twenty years. He served as administrative assistant to the late Mayor James Cathey and oversaw Bossier City’s first law enforcement community service efforts in the late 1960’s. Dedicated to making Bossier City a better place, he lived or worked on the Benton Road his entire life.

Wyatt was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Diana Pratt-Wyatt and his parents, Geneva Helen Taylor Wyatt and Hershel Launce Wyatt. Johnny Wyatt is survived by countless friends and his son, Jeffrey Launce Wyatt, his wife Kelley, and grandchildren Jacob and Madison; his daughter, Gena Helen Ramon, her husband Craig, and grandsons Jose Salazar IV and Joshua Salazar; and his daughter, Bridgett Worley, her husband Donald, and grandson Brandon. He is also survived by one sister, Patricia Wyatt, her husband Jerry “Trigger” Allen, their daughter Alice Helen Allen, and her husband Stephen “Drew” Ford.

Members of the City Marshal’s Office will serve as pallbearers: Chief Deputy Rick Ware, Captain Robert Jones, Lt. Jim Whitman, and Deputies Shelley Anderson, Robert Garner, Lynn McNemar, Mike Shaw, Shawn Sims, and Randal Thomas. Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. Neal Prather, Jimmy Bedingfield, Larry Chrisman, Curtis Marsh, Paul Oberle, Larry Parker, Mike Smith, and Dudley Tooke.

The family would like to express special thanks to Donnie Jones and Don Sonnier, Jr. and to all who supported his quest to live one day at a time according to God’s will through prayer and service to others. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Gingerbread House Children’s Advocacy Center at 1700 Buckner Street, Shreveport, LA 71101 (318) 674-2900.