Diane Player Johnson went to be with our Lord on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. Diane was born in Oil City, Louisiana on April 14, 1933. Her parents, William Player and Mary Player, predeceased her, as did her only sibling, Betty Player Markham.
Diane spent her childhood in Oil City, where she was Miss Oil City High in her senior year. Following graduation, she attended Louisiana Tech and then began working at the Kansas City Southern Railroad offices in Shreveport. In Shreveport, she met William Johnson and in 1955, they married and started a 65 year life together. William passed away in 2021 in the home that he and Diane shared.
Diane and William had four children together, who survive her: Robert Johnson and his wife, Laila, of Dallas; Wayne Johnson and his wife, Carolyn, of Shreveport; Susanne J. Bancroft and her husband, Bill, of Dallas; and Roger Johnson and his wife, Michelle, of Dallas. Diane is also survived by numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren: Marshall Johnson and his wife, Megan, of Shreveport, and their three children, William, Aela and Emma; Stafford Johnson and his wife, Chrissy, of Shreveport; Will Bancroft of Los Angeles; Elizabeth Bernet, and her husband, Charlie, of Dallas, and their three children, Bodie, Rudy and Olive; Grace Bancroft and her fiancé, Rhodes Legg, of Dallas; Chloie Mercer and her husband, Jack, of Dallas, and their daughter, Collins; Taylor Johnson of Dallas; and Claire Johnson of Dallas.
These life markers don’t begin to speak to Diane’s impact on the lives of her family, friends and others. Throughout her life, Diane brought love and cheer to family, friends and everyone she encountered. She dedicated her entire life to her children and family and instilled in them the values to make their lives successful and bountiful. Although raised in a Christian family, she experienced a deepening of her faith as an adult, and her words and actions, and particularly her faith and grace in the face of her approaching death, were a constant reminder of her devotion to Jesus Christ.
The entire family expresses its deepest gratitude and appreciation to Maude Warner for the care and loving attention she gave to Diane and the entire family during the last months of Diane’s life. The family also expresses its gratitude to Nurse Denise Killen for her care for Diane in hospice care.
A visitation will be held for Diane on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, from Noon to 1:00 PM, at Centuries Memorial Funeral Home, 8801 Mansfield Road in Shreveport, followed by a Celebration of Diane’s Life beginning at 1:00 PM. A private burial will be held at Centuries Memorial Park.
