Rev. Philip Raymond Johns Jr.

Philip Raymond Johns Jr. was born on April 15,1945 in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest of three children born to Philip Raymond Johns Sr. and Sara Elizabeth Edwards, both of whom preceded him in death. Left to mourn his death are his loving wife Joan, his children Jeremy (Aisha), Damien (Tamara), Hillary (Ikomel), and Philip III, his siblings, Roger (Janis), Cynthia (Don) and a host of grand-children, great grandchildren, cousins, nieces, and nephews. Phil lived a very fruitful life filled with God and family. He was very gifted in sports, music, and in fostering lasting relationships.

From the start, Phil was different. His uncle Horace Johns bought him a trumpet when he was only three or four years old and taught him how to play it. When he got to first grade in school, he was better at reading musical notes than he was at reading about Dick, Jane, and Spot, who were the characters in the books used for teaching children to read at that time. From that point on, music played a major role in his life. When Phil reached the third grade, he had become proficient enough to play his trumpet in the high school marching band. They had to have a special band uniform made for him to wear when the band performed in local parades and football games. He became somewhat of a local celebrity and earned money by playing the Taps at local military burials. From the seventh grade until his senior year in high school he would spend a couple of days out of town to play in school district bands. This was a result of him being a ‘first chair’ trumpet player throughout junior and senior high school. He spent many hours through his youth taking trumpet lessons. After high school he obtained a scholarship to attend Florida A&M University where he played in the Marching One Hundred band. Upon graduation Phil became band director at two local high schools in Miami, Florida.

Phil was also an outstanding athlete. Starting at a very early age, Phil began displaying unusual and exceptional ability in playing baseball. As a nine-year-old player in Little League baseball he made the all-star team. Mind you, this was a league where eight through twelve-year old kids play, and Phil was an all-star at age nine. In an all-star game playing against a team from another town, Phil led his team to victory by leaping to catch a ball for the game’s final out which saved a home run in right field. He was so young and small that his jersey got caught on the wooden picket style fence during the catch, that the coach had to run to help him get off the fence. Phil saved the game, but he too had to be saved. In Pony League play (ages 13&14) he totally dominated. His defense in center field almost caught up to his hitting skills. Phil’s high school career in baseball was cut short, as baseball was not offered at his high school. Phil also excelled in basketball. He was the star of the high school team. He played forward where he had a Dennis Rodman style of play. He thought that every rebound belonged to him, and he seemed to love a physical type of game. He never backed down from anyone on the court as his role was part scorer, part rebounder, and part enforcer. In his senior year he led his team to a division title and lost to the eventual state championship team. In addition to all of that, he also was on the track team for one season where he ran the 440-yard dash.

While Phil was at Florida A&M, he became known as PJ, and that is what all his Florida friends and associates called him. During his FAMU years, PJ became a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. That along with his membership in the Marching 100 Band shaped his identity and created relationships that endured through the rest of his life. PJ loved and cherished all things associated with the Nupes and the 100. He was very active in the alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi in Miami and most of his friends were either Kappa’s or former members of the FAMU Marching 100. Although he had a scholarship to attend FAMU, he was helped in many ways during and after his time at FAMU by his late uncle and aunt, Reverend S. A. Cousin and his wife Mary Cousin.

In Miami, PJ was an educator who taught music and served as band director at two high schools, Miami High and Miami Central. After leaving the Dade County school system, he accepted a position with a clothing company to manage its factory in Jamaica. Upon returning to the United States, PJ became a manager at a shirt and leisure clothes factory in Miami named "Alan Stuart". With that company he traveled to clothing trade shows in big cities like New York City, Las Vegas, and Chicago. He excelled so well at the company in the early 1970’s and being Alan Stuart’s first employee, he then became the Vice President of Operations of the company.

PJ then became a top aide to then Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dorrin D. Rolle. This led to him being the Principal at J.E.S.C.A.’s Roving Leaders Alternative School in Liberty City, FL and soon after, became Commissioner Rolle’s Chief of Staff. At that point in time his real and forever calling had not yet occurred.

In the early 90’s, PJ received and accepted a call to Christian discipleship. He studied and became an ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church. He attended St. James A.M.E. Church, where he became a part of the ministerial staff and was mentored by his spiritual father in the ministry, Rev. John L. Bodison. After serving many years within St. James A.M.E. Church, he then began his journey as an A.M.E. Pastor. He served as pastor in the following churches in the Eleventh Episcopal District of the AME church:

Allen Temple A.M.E., Riviera Beach, FL

St. Johns A.M.E., South Miami, FL

Salter Chapel A.M.E., Miami, FL

Macedonia A.M.E., Boca Raton, FL

Bethel A.M.E., Fellsmere, FL

It is only fitting that Phil would become an AME preacher. He came from a long line of ministers in his family. He had a great grandfather, aunt, and several uncles who were preachers. Most of them in the AME church. Phil was raised in Mt. Zion AME church in Brownsville, PA. He came from a Christian family and a church where over half of the congregation were extended family members. His mother was the superintendent of the Sunday School, and his father was a church steward. Phil was involved in all the youth programs and activities at the church. From childhood, he was guided by the scripture that hung at the bottom of the stairs in his home: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Phil was truly a man of faith. He loved the Lord unconditionally and he loved his family. He was the kind of person who truly lit up a room when he entered. He always wore a smile on his face and could become friends with almost anybody. At any type of gathering he was the ultimate entertainer, not in a comedic sense but rather in a jovial, friendly way. He had a way of making everyone feel better about life.

He will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. God bless his wife Joan who faithfully stood by him and cared for him for many years. God bless his children, Jeremy, Damien, Hillary, and Philip, III. They all loved and respected him. He set an excellent blueprint for how they should conduct their lives. The world lost a true hero, not just his family, but all who knew him have lost a friend. As Phil’s father liked to say, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you”.

Phil has fought the good fight. It is now time for him to blow his trumpet for God and the Angels in Heaven.