Angela Johnson Summers

1974 - 2020

Angela Johnson Summers

Angela Johnson Summers was born Angela Johnson in Indianapolis on September 19th, 1974 to Harry and Bonnie Johnson. The family grew to 4 with the birth of her brother and they moved to Bargersville. Her early years were spent reading, feeding the cows, avoiding the rooster, and helping her mom in the floral shop beside the house.

Her dad was the one who she bonded the most with. He was a machinist in Indy and championed his daughter at school and home. She was a straight-A student with perfect attendance, top five in her class at Franklin High Class of '93, and a James Millikin Scholar at Millikin University where she majored in English.

Angela's beloved father passed when she was 19, weighing on her for may years. Also, in '96, she moved to Indianapolis with her future spouse, Melanie Davis, and they had many adventures there with old and new friends who were mostly misfits, artists, and others who knew how to have a good time. She and Melanie were married in '99. More adventures were had. In '05, she gave birth to their daughter, Katrina. The couple split in '08.

Angela's life's goal was finding a family to belong to. She found that in 3 places. First, Teleunique, a fundraising/box office service for non-profits was one of the environments she flourished in. The people there were a family, and they buoyed her in many ways.

Then, she met some folks from Unity of Indianapolis church who she connected with. She and Kat attended a service, soon Angela became a Sunday School teacher, and before too long joined the church board. She invested herself with a signature passion, and found a richly accepting and supportive family at Unity where her life had impacted so many, too.

Finally, like many English majors, Angela struggled to find a profession. She started a pet treats company with her friend, Melissa Cummings, called Missy's Morsels. That and volunteering for local animal welfare orgs, satisfied her love for animals. Then she happened upon a career with the Postal Service as a mail carrier, another family where she sought service as a local steward for their union. She was a glad sight on her route, making friends with the people and animals, passing out treats and smiles and mail, too. She wrote that this was finally a place she felt at home and her world was coming together in so many ways. It combined belonging and service and had all the lovely rules and procedures and things she absolutely loved in life, like copy-editing, for example.

Then, on April 27th, the bright arc of Angela's life met the impenetrable wall of senseless violence when she was killed, delivering mail during a pandemic as an essential worker serving her community at risk to herself. She made a couple of prophetic posts on Facebook just hours before she was gunned down. Her death was national news, but what the headlines miss is the life she lived. For those who knew and loved her, her entire 45 year stay with us is the story. I could've really used Angela's help editing this, but I'm eternally grateful for all the great things she has contributed to this world. Sorry for my grammar, dear. Where's an English major when you need one?

Angela is survived by our daughter, Katrina, their furbabies: Friend, Milo, and Mr. LemonPants, her brother Douglas Johnson, uncle Harold Crowe, and entirely too many Family members from church, work, and life to afford to print in the local paper. A drive-through service will be held at Forest Lawn Funeral Home - 1977 S State Rd 135, Greenwood - starting at 2pm Sun. May 17th. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to either of 2 GoFundMe campaigns (search for her name at the site), which are collecting funds for Katrina, or to a local animal welfare organization of your choice.