Susan Johnson

Susan Johnson
Services for Susan Johnson, 86, of Colorado are 10:00 a.m. Monday, May 12, 2025, at the Fitzhugh Baptist Church; Rev. Steve Wilburn will officiate. Burial will follow at East Hill Cemetery in Roff, OK.
Susan Crawford Whitt was born in the Chicago suburbs on November 22, 1938, to Joseph Preston and Mildred Haznedl Whitt while her father was enrolled at McCormick Seminary. Her childhood involved many moves, as her father served as a pastor in Huron, South Dakota, and Greenwood, Arkansas, before WWII broke out. He also served in the Army-Air Force at a base in Smyrna, TN, as an Army-Air Corps chaplain. Susan became the oldest of five children, as siblings Sally, Nancy, Ellen, and John were born.
Perhaps the most memorable parts of her childhood were the post-war years spent in Colony, OK, where the family moved when Susan was in third grade. Susan loved the outdoors and especially remembers climbing trees and working in the cotton fields. She recalled a month during each fall harvest when school would take a harvest break. Her family would wake up at 6 a.m. and pick cotton all day in the hot sun, working very hard, and coming home to a big supper that her mother would prepare. The money earned went to her family. When a relative gave them a $50 gift, her family bought a piano. Susan took piano lessons for two years, which resulted in a lifelong love of playing hymns on the piano.
After the Korean conflict began, in the fall of 1951, Susan's father was called back into service. During his time at Wheelus Air Force Base in Tripoli, Libya, Susan remembered that this was her first airplane ride, that she had attended a small school on the Air Force Base, that she began dating her first boyfriend, and especially the family's happiness, as they lived there from 1951-53. It was at her father's next assignment, at Hill Air Force Base near Ogden, Utah, that Susan met her future husband, Melvin L. Johnson, on a blind date. Susan married Mel on October 14, 1955, at the young age of 16 and went on to earn her high school diploma in May 1958. In the meantime, their first child, Laura Ellen, was born on February 27, 1957. While living in Idaho, as Mel served in the Air Force Reserves, Mel earned his master's degree while Susan tended to their young family. Their second child, Robert Preston, was born on April 20, 1959, and their third child, Elizabeth Ann, was born on April 21, 1961.
The family moved to San Jose, CA when Beth was 1 1/2 years old. Susan recalls that it was sometime during these years, when she was a young mother, in her twenties, that she was seeking God and investigating the cults. She had religion, but not a relationship with Jesus, until Reverend Jack and Nell Chinchen visited her church. It was they who led her into the sweet communion of a saving relationship with Jesus Christ that impacted--and would forever transform her life. Nell discipled her in the Bible and in her Christian witness. Susan became a lifelong follower of Christ, an avid student of the Bible (which she read daily, up until the morning of her passing), and a generous supporter of the African Bible Colleges that the Chinchens would go on to build, as well as many, many other Christian ministries.
Susan and Mel raised their young family for five years in Fayetteville, AK, while Mel worked on a nuclear reactor there. Then, they were back in San Jose for nine months before he changed companies and moved the family to Goddard, KS. Their fourth child, Jennifer Ruth, was born on May 30, 1973, in Oklahoma, during that move. When Amy Sue was born on January 22, 1975, and Sarah Jean on September 7, 1976, Mel and Susan found themselves raising three teens alongside three babies! Susan always said that every baby is a blessing. And that mindset resulted in an ever-growing family. While still raising her younger children, in 1983, Susan began welcoming grandchildren. She was a Godly, generous, loving, devoted, and sacrificial wife and mother and that became her legacy not only to her six children, but to her 23 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
During her many years in Kansas, Susan enjoyed her grandchildren, cooking, Bible studies, and caring for the family's five horses. She thrived in the community she found in her neighborhood and at her church, University Friends. In 1997, Susan reluctantly left her Kansas community to follow Mel's wishes to retire in his childhood town of Roff, OK, where they could care for his aging siblings. Susan quickly began to love the community she found in that small town, and in her churches there. During their retirement years, Susan and Mel chose to be a stable, vital, and ongoing source of support for friends and several aging family members. After losing Mel to cancer in April 2013, Susan continued to thrive in that community, caring for their property and enjoying the constant companionship and loyalty of dear friends. When asked about her favorite life memories, she quickly mentioned the card games and friends she enjoyed at the Roff Senior Center. Those times resulted in a competitive love for games that carried through until the end of Susan's life.
In 2023, at the age of 85, Susan finally agreed to give up some independence, leave her beloved community, and move closer to family. She purchased a small home in Goddard, KS, where she shared precious time with her daughter, Amy. After being diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 2024 and enjoying visits from the many friends and family members whose lives she impacted, Susan bravely came to Colorado in February of 2025 to receive the nursing care she required at the end of life, from both Jennifer and Elizabeth. In her last months, Susan was full of certain hope and faith. She was eagerly anticipating her heavenly inheritance. Very unconcerned about her own health and comfort, she focused mostly on praying for and blessing her family. On May 1, 2025, while playing her favorite game with Elizabeth, Susan got her heart's desire when her Lord and Savior suddenly called her home. When asked about her accomplishments, Susan always gives all credit for her life and work to Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior, and His great mercy and grace.
Survivors include her Siblings - Sally Whitt Rogers, Nancy Marie Whitt, Ellen Whitt Hubbell (James), John Hart Whitt (Rita), Children - Robert Preston Johnson (Ana), Elizabeth Johnson Fitch (David), Jennifer Johnson Orr (Rueben), Amy Johnson Withers (Chris), Sarah Jean Johnson, twenty-three grandchildren and sixteen great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Preston Whitt and Mildred Haznedl Whitt; husband, Melvin Lawrence Johnson; and daughter, Laura Johnson Rowe.
Bearers are Bill Rowe, David Fitch, Rueben Orr, Chris Withers, Kent Johnson, Alex Orr.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that Memorial Donations be given to Fitzhugh Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 177, Fitzhugh, OK 74843 or True Hearts Ministry, P.O. Box 163, Oologah, OK 74053. (Justin & Jennifer Carson orphanage in Eswanti, Africa.)