EULA JOHNSON

Eula Johnson

CHARLOTTE, NC — Eula Mae Johnson, 84, of Charlotte, NC, answered the Master's call Friday, May 13, 2016 in Carolinas Medical Center.

She was born in Bailey, North Carolina to Olivia Palmer and Charles "Boisie" Johnson. At the age of seven, her grandparents, Hughes and Fannie Palmer Johnson, took her to Brooklyn, New York to live with them. She graduated from Junior High School 35 and Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn.

She worked as an assistant bookkeeper for the Ocean Travel Agency and for Popper and Popper Pharmaceutical Distribution Company before moving into the music industry in 1968 as a copyright executive. She worked in a succession of senior music copyright administration roles at Fred Ahlert Music Group, Eastman & Eastman Music Publishing, CBS Songs/CBS Inc., and Williamson Music Company/The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. After retiring from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Eula relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1991. Not one to be idle, Eula worked at First Union National Bank, retiring a second time in 1998. She returned to work at RDS Electrical in Charlotte, where she retired for the third and final time.

She was baptized at her family church, Brown Memorial Baptist Church, in Brooklyn, NY. As an adult, Eula served as an elder at Hollis Presbyterian Church in Hollis, NY, and as an elder at New Hampton Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC. She worked with, mentored, and served as a liaison for candidates for ministry in the Presbyterian Church. Eula also served as a member of the Charlotte Presbytery Mission & Justice Committee's Hunger Sub-Committee, where she identified non-profit organizations for financial grant support; a member of the African American Caucus of The Presbytery of Charlotte; and a member of the Presbyterian Women of the Charlotte Presbytery. In 2003, Eula worked on the mission team that established Samaritan House, a respite care facility that houses Mecklenburg County's homeless who are in need of recuperative care, and she volunteered serving Samaritan House residents for many years. Eula also served as President of the NorWes Chapter of AARP in Charlotte.

Eula loved to travel and enjoyed many Caribbean cruises as well as trips with her family to Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa.

Eula leaves two daughters, Iris Cumberbatch of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Carol Cumberbatch of New York, NY,; one grandson, Itua Cumberbatch of Newark, Delaware; two great-grandsons, Cameron Mason Saunders and Caden Matthew Cumberbatch; one sister, Vivian Riddick (TJ) of Chesapeake, Virginia; two brothers, Oliver Ricks of Brooklyn, NY, and Graddie Ricks of Atlanta, Georgia; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, and dear friends.

Funeral Services will be Saturday, 11 a.m., in New Hampton Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Charlotte, with Rev. Sheila Council and Rev. Dennis Funderburk. Interment will follow in Mt. Rowell Cemetery, Union County, SC.

The Gilmore Mortuary, Gaffney, SC www.gilmoresmortuary.com