Joan LeCroy Johnson

JOHNSON, Joan LeCroy

Joan LeCroy Johnson, beloved mother and steadfast wife, passed away at home on Monday, June 20, 2022, after a brief illness. She was 87 years old.

Born at the old Telfair Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, Joan was the middle child and only daughter of Clarence and Cleo LeCroy; her older brother Clarence Rudolph Jr. (Sonny) and her younger brother Charles Michael (Mickey) predeceased her. Joan graduated from Savannah High School. During her high school and college years, she worked as a camp counselor every summer at the Fresh Air Home, a summer camp for underprivileged children on Tybee Island; the camp is still operational today. After receiving her associate of arts degree with honors from Armstrong Junior College (now part of Georgia Southern University), where she was president of Alpha Tau Beta sorority, Joan attended Mercer University in Macon, where she was an officer of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and a member of Kappa Delta Epsilon (a professional fraternity for students in education); in addition, she was selected for membership in Sigma Mu (the school's highest academic honor). She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts in elementary education.

While at Mercer, she met her future husband, Benjamin L. Johnson, and they were married at Bull Street Baptist Church in Savannah in 1956 after her graduation. Joan taught first grade in Macon during Ben's first two years of law school at Mercer. Then she taught first grade in Savannah while Ben completed his law school education at the University of Georgia. They moved to Atlanta in 1961 and eventually settled in the Garden Hills neighborhood of Buckhead, where they raised three children: Carole, Russell, and Arthur.

A longtime member of Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, Joan was invited to join the initial staff of SPDL Preschool in 1968, and she taught there for three years. In 1973 she joined the staff of Northside Methodist Preschool, where she taught until her retirement in June 1995. In the spring of 1995, the Georgia Preschool Association awarded Joan a Distinguished Certificate of Recognition. Additionally, Joan was a camp counselor at Pace Academy Summer Programs Day Camp for three summers during the 1980s.

After Ben retired from his law practice in 1994, Joan and Ben eventually relocated to Marietta. Joan made full use of her retirement, taking classes in topics such as computers and line dancing, enjoying travel to Italy and Hawaii and on a Mississippi riverboat, and making an annual trip to Orange Beach in Alabama as a guest of her sister-in-law Barbara. She particularly cherished her weekly gatherings with "the Lunch Bunch," a small group of close friends she had made among the teachers who taught preschool with her. She also enjoyed supporting Ben in his activities as a Mason and Shriner, and she faithfully cared for him through his health issues in his later years and up to his death in January of this year.

Joan is survived by her children, Carole W. Johnson of Atlanta, Georgia, Russell N. Johnson (Mark D. Hudson) of Chicago, Illinois, and Arthur B. Johnson (Donna D. Ashley) of Atlanta, Georgia; her sisters-in-law Barbara LeCroy of Houston, Texas, and Judy LeCroy of Morganton, North Carolina; and her many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM, on Sunday, August 7, 2022, at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, 2715 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia, 30305.