Roberta Johnson

Roberta Mathews Johnson was born on March 10, 1942 in Gordo, Alabama. She died February 6, 2025 in Bridgeport, CT after a four year battle with multiple myeloma. She was surrounded by her loving family.
Roberta graduated from Gordo High School in 1960 then worked in New York as a nanny. Sad and homesick, she soon followed her cousins, Frances and Ann Hosea (Brayboy) to Stamford where she met and married Henry Poindexter in 1963. Together they had four children: Gregory, Renee, Shari Lynn and Maritza "Missy." Henry and Roberta divorced in 1974. In 1977, Roberta married Tracy Johnson and they remained together for 44 years until his death in 2021. From their loving union, they had one daughter, Crystal.
Over the years, Roberta worked at Cheseboro Ponds, Capitol Records, Electrolux and finally landed at Clairol where she was a dedicated union representative fiercely protecting the rights of fellow workers until she and Tracy retired in 2003 to Thomson, GA near Tracy's hometown of Warrenton. Roberta took ill in 2020 and moved with Tracy and son, Greg, to California with her daughter, Shari. Later, in 2022, she moved back to the east coast to be closer to daughters, Missy, Crystal and Renee, her beloved grandchildren, greatgrands and friends.
Roberta was an incredible, loving and patient mother. She was all love and kindness but God help you if you messed with her children. She loved her children fiercely and they each loved her in return with the same fervor.
All those fortunate enough to know her, knew that Roberta had a lovely sense of humor and loved to laugh. She was a loyal and trusted friend to many including many of her children's friends who developed a special kinship with her and remember Roberta as warm and welcoming with a door that was always open. Roberta was an only daughter with five brothers whom she loved dearly. Until her death, she had a special relationship with her two remaining brothers, James Elbert and Ray Anthony.
Roberta also loved the lord with all her heart. In Stamford, she was a faithful member of Union Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Reverend Robert W. Perry who was also a friend she cherished. In Thomson, Roberta was a member of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church where she served as a missionary and a Mother of the Church.
Roberta was preceded in death by her husband, Tracy Johnson and son, Gregory Poindexter both of Los Angeles, CA; parents: William Taylor Mathews and Clara Lowe Mathews of Gordo, AL; brothers: Harry T. Mathews, Leon Mathews of Gordo, AL, and Joseph W. Mathews of Huntsville, AL; sister- and brother-in-law, Mildred Johnson and Evans Johnson of Warrenton, GA; and very special mother-figure and family friend, Martha Robinson Melvin of Fayetteville, NC.
Roberta leaves behind to cherish her memory, daughters: Renee McCord (Jay) of Milford, CT, Shari Poindexter (Richard Daniel) of Los Angeles, CA, Maritza "Missy" Brown (Travis) of Bridgeport, CT; Crystal Johnson Bradley of Newport News, VA; daughter-in-law: Chevonne Handy Poindexter of Charlotte, NC; Stepchildren: Tracene Lee (Eddie) of Thomson, GA; Timothy Johnson of Thomson, GA, Tracy Johnson Jr. of Warrenton, GA, Shonie Griffin of Germantown, MD and Tyree Griffin of Virginia Beach, VA; beloved grandchildren: Taurean McCord of Waterbury, CT, Taya Napaul of Milford, CT, Tai Barret of Bridgeport, Shamyrra Singleton and Janee Poindexter of Waterbury, CT, Gregory L. Poindexter, Jr. of Augusta, GA and Daio Poindexter Van Bebbe of Aiken, SC, and Jason Brown of Stamford, CT ; Eric Marshall and Wesley Brown of Bridgeport, CT; Nyia, Jordan and Anthony Bradley of Bridgeport, CT; Adisa Douglas of Brooklyn, NY; Sanaa, Ayo, Xochitl Poindexter-Douglas, and YaaAsantewaa Daniel-Poindexter of Los Angeles, CA; brothers: James E. Mathews and Ray A. Mathews of Gordo, AL, sister-in-law, Betty Mathews of Gordo, AL as well as a host of great-grandchildren, cherished nieces and nephews, and cousins, including devoted, loyal and loving friends: Patricia McCord, Nancy Horner, Carolyn Browder, Martha Faison, Barbara Dixon, Fritz and Bernadette Jean-Louis, and Fannie Mae Sims, all of whom Roberta loved dearly.