Robert Johnson

Albany- Robert Johnson, son of the late Chappel and Annie Johnson, was born in Manning, South Carolina, on December 1, 1932. He was educated in the Manning, South Carolina Public School System. A few years before 1956, he decided to leave Manning, South Carolina, first reuniting with his father, Chappel Johnson, in Buffalo, New York, and then onward to Brooklyn, New York, where he lived with his older sister, Oree Johnson. On September 25, 1956, he was inducted into the United States Army, which he served proudly. He received an honorable discharge from the Army on October 15, 1957, and began a career with the United States Postal Service, where he worked several years before he retired. One of the highlights of his career while working at the United States Postal Service Morgan Processing and Distribution Center at 341 9th Avenue, New York, NY, was being one of the shop stewards selected to go on the Freedom Ride bus tour, in which he helped the residents of Mississippi and Alabama register to vote. He also participated in the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, where people gathered that day at the Lincoln Memorial and heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. give his “I Have a Dream” speech. Robert was united in Holy Matrimony at Cornerstone Baptist Church, Brooklyn, New York, to his “soul mate”, late Priscilla Lee Johnson, on September 12, 1959. 

He was devoted to his loving family, and God embraced Robert to be a loving foster parent from 1967 to 1997. He provided a loving and caring home for many, many years. Robert and Priscilla were honored by New York State and presented with a plaque to denote this distinction. He fostered countless children and continued to be in their lives, in a parental role, until his timely death. In 2004, after retirement from the United States Postal Service and the New York City Department of Education, he left St. Albans, New York, and moved to Albany, New York, with his wife. On Saturday, December 13, 2025, God, in His infinite wisdom, chose another one of His children to come home at St. Peter’s Hospital Hospice in Albany, New York. 

Robert was preceded in death by his wife, Priscilla Lee Johnson; his son, Robert Johnson Jr., of Bangor, Maine; his parents, Chappel and Annie Johnson; his brothers, Wash Johnson of Hempstead, New York, Leroy Johnson of Manning, South Carolina, and Charles Johnson of Buffalo, New York; and his sisters, Oree Johnson of Brooklyn, New York, Bertha Malloy of Richmond, Virginia, and Beulah Autry of Buffalo, New York. 

He leaves to cherish his memories four children: Lee Ann Denise Johnson of Albany, New York; Zachary Rex Johnson of St. Albans, New York; Corinne Annie Johnson of Albany, New York; and Cheryl Orie Johnson of Troy, New York. He also leaves to cherish his memories a special beloved niece, Delores Malloy of Valley Stream, New York, and a special beloved grandniece, Karen Malloy Fentress of Cambria Heights, New York. Robert also leaves six grandchildren: Robert Johnson III of Justin, Texas; Rashaad Johnson of Waco, Texas; Shawn-Nee Priscilla Johnson of Bucksport, Maine; Edwin Felipe of Jamaica, New York; Jaylen Munro of Albany, New York; and Mia Rogers of Troy, New York; and six great-grandchildren: Gary Kane Johnson of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Malia Johnson of Waco, Texas; Kameron Johnson of Belfast, New York; Blayze Johnson of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Ashley Luzzi of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Rashaad Lamont Johnson Jr. of Waco, Texas; Brooke Boller of Justin, Texas; and Madison Boger of Justin, Texas. Bonus daughter L’Tanya Gattling of Virginia Beach, Virginia.