Leonor Valdez Johnson

Leonor Valdez Johnson passed away at her home in College Station, Texas on August 8, 2025. She was 78 years old. Leonor was preceded in death by her parents, Juan F. Valdez and Estefana R. Valdez and two brothers. She leaves behind her husband Stephen M. Johnson, her son Michael V. Johnson, her sister Corina Valdez and numerous cousins.

Leonor was born on June 4, 1947 in Rio Hondo, Texas to parents Juan and Estefana Valdez. She was the youngest of four children. Leonor grew up in McAllen, Texas and was a 1968 graduate of McAllen High School. After high school, Leonor attended Pan American College for two years in Edinburg, Texas.

Leonor was an enthusiastic believer in education and enjoyed the world of academics and learning. She looked forward to becoming an elementary school teacher herself ever since she was young. To that end, she enrolled in Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas. While pursuing her degree, she was also a student teacher and participated in work-study programs around campus.

It was while attending a college dance that she would meet her future husband, Stephen Johnson, a student at North Texas State University, also in Denton. Leonor later earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Bilingual Education from TWU in May, 1974. She and her husband were married the following year in June of 1975. Leonor continued her education at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and earned a Master of Liberal Arts degree in August, 1976.

After completing her college studies, she and her husband looked forward to married life and relocated to the West Lovers Lane neighborhood of Dallas. Leonor also began to work full-time as a second grade teacher for Maple Lawn Elementary School. Leonor enjoyed elementary school age children and would continue to teach second grade at Maple Lawn for the remainder of her teaching career. She loved family gatherings and enjoyed seeing the excitement of her in-laws watching the Dallas Cowboys. Leonor and her husband liked to do occasional traveling and they made multiple trips to Mexico and visited several states including Hawaii, California, Arkansas, Colorado and others.

In April of 1979, Leonor and Steve welcomed their first and only child, Michael into the world. She continued to teach while also raising her son. In the spring of 1984, Leonor and the family moved to Carrollton, Texas, where they enrolled their son in school. As a devout Christian and woman of faith, she was a member of nearby Woodlake Baptist Church and liked to attend sermons and Bible study groups. In 1986, she and her husband took a trip to Europe where they saw sites around Spain and the United Kingdom.

Years later, Leonor retired from teaching and then used her new available time to maintain the home and help her son with school. In her free time she enjoyed watching television programs, particularly talk shows. Her favorite shows included Phil Donahue, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil. She also liked to keep up with current events and regularly watched local and national news and subscribed to news magazines. She was an avid reader since childhood and always bought new books on subjects she wanted to know more about.

In 2000, Leonor and Steve moved to College Station to be closer to her family in the area. It was there that they bought a plot of land and built a new house. With the new home completed, Leonor enjoyed bird watching, reading and watching television. She especially liked watching movies and Texas A&M football with her husband and son.

She loved her family very much and always loved spending time with them. She will be missed deeply by her family and will always be remembered by them.