Gloria Land Johnson

Gloria Johnson, 92, passed away on December 8, 2019, at her home in New Albany, Indiana. She was born Ethel Gloria Land on January 23, 1927, in Athens, Georgia, to Oliver Bradford and Ethel Gloria (Allgood) Land. She was predeceased by her husband Paul, her daughter Joyce, her parents, and her brother Oliver (+Marlene), and is survived by her daughters Laura Bauer (Edward) and Ethel Harris (David), grandchildren Elizabeth Bauer and Zachary, Jacob, and Paul Harris, and her sisters Charlotte Williams (+Hank) and Joyce Fendig (Albert). A lifelong learner with an insatiable hunger for travel and new experiences, Gloria was always ready to head to a regional park to hike the trails or pack her bags for a longer journey. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a degree in biology, she became certified as a medical technologist while working at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. She then worked at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta before applying for a position at Hanford Works in Washington State, where she participated in ongoing postwar science research. It was there she met Paul, a graduate student in chemical engineering. They were married on February 9, 1952, in Athens. Paul was employed by DuPont Chemicals, and they moved to Wilmington, Delaware, and then to the Louisville area, finally settling in New Albany. It was there they made their home, except for three years in the early 1960s spent in Northern Ireland where Paul helped manage a DuPont plant. Their time in Ireland gave them the opportunity to travel all across Europe and into northern Africa, all while Gloria cared for her three children. Her husband marveled at her ability, unassisted, to take the girls, including one with physical limitations, back and forth to the US to visit family. After Paul retired, they traveled to many other parts of the world including Egypt, China, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand. But Gloria’s most important journeys were always toward home – in earlier years it was to her family home in Athens for holidays and other celebrations. Then after her parents passed away, she spent as much time as possible, including long stretches of each summer, at the Land family’s lake cabin her father built in northeast Georgia. Gloria was an expert in the kitchen, from daily cooking to desserts made from scratch. She and Paul were members of a local monthly gourmet club. She made sure the Johnson family holiday dinners were more than memorable meals – they were festive celebrations of each season with detailed table decorations, and of course delicious food. Gloria was active in local service. An avid reader, she was one of the founding members and served as president of the Friends of the New Albany-Floyd County Library. She was an early proponent and advocate for recycling and care for the environment, served with Meals on Wheels, and was a member of the Amaranth Club. An accomplished bridge player, she enjoyed playing several times a week into her 80s. She was a Presbyterian and a member of St. John Presbyterian Church in New Albany, where she had served in various ministries. In her last years she experienced short-term memory loss, making it difficult to participate in many of the activities she enjoyed most. But she remained gracious and outward-looking – always thinking of others before herself – to the very end of her time here. Visitation will take place on December 21,2019 from 1-3 pm followed by a funeral service at 3:00 pm at Kraft Funeral Service, 708 East Spring Street, New Albany, Indiana 47150.