Gloria Mae Johnson

Sunday, December 19, 2021, the spirit and soul of Gloria Mae Johnson, 92, of Wilmington, NC was delivered beyond this Earth. Gloria’s life was full and happy, though in recent years she fought a long-term battle with COPD and other medical issues. Gloria was born in Detroit, Michigan on July 14, 1929 and it was there she grew up and married Lester Elvin Johnson, who preceded her in death in April 1986. Gloria worked part-time as an accounting clerk for several years and full-time as a mother and homemaker. She also loved to write letters and poetry. Gloria lived and made many lifelong friends in Garden City and Livonia, MI, Minneapolis, MN, Parsippany, NJ, Glenview, IL,  Arlington and Falls Church, VA,  before moving to Wilmington, NC in 2007.

She is survived by her children: Robert B. Johnson, and his wife Judy Rosen of Chapel Hill; Karen J. Zakeski, and her husband David Zakeski of Chapel Hill; and Kathryn (Kate) J. Santhuff, and her husband Bruce Santhuff of Wilmington; as well as her long-time caregiver and friend, Harriet Mara of Wilmington. Gloria was a proud and loving grandmother to her 5 grandchildren – all of whom had a very special relationship with her – and 1 great-grandson. Her church family from Church of the Servant remembers her joy of life, sense of humor, family love, spirituality, and gratitude, all of which gave her the strength to carry on despite her physical ailments.

Gloria was preceded in death not only by her husband, but by her parents and step-parents, Gladys and Weaver Watson and Thomas and Edith Barrand, her brothers Charles and David, and her sister Margaret. Her life and memory will be celebrated in a service at The Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC on March 26, 2022 at 3pm; thereafter her cremains will be interred alongside her husband’s in Livonia, Michigan in the summer of 2022. The family asks for a memory to be shared with them or a donation made in Gloria’s name to a nonprofit organization doing good in the world.