Geraldine Johnson

Geraldine was born on October 7, 1929 to parents William Clayton Jones and Doris Elizabeth Jones in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Her family worked in the textile mills there. During the Depression, when she was 3 years old, she and her family moved to Norfolk, Virginia seeking steady employment with the shipbuilding industry. She would call Norfolk home for most of her life. Her father died when she was just fifteen years old. Her uncle Harry stepped in to help fill the void. She grew up in a household that included her grandmother, Betty and uncle Harry. She always loved and appreciated them both.

After graduating from high school, she worked briefly as a telephone operator for AT&T. She met her husband Burley, at her church of the time. They would divorce years later, but they both loved their children; and their children loved them back.

Most of her adult life she was a skilled seamstress whose work was admired and appreciated by several interior decorators over the years. She worked out of her home which allowed her to raise her three children as well. When she retired, she moved to North Carolina to be near her grandchildren.

She was a decades-long member of Azalea Baptist Church in Norfolk. She did not join a church when she moved to North Carolina, but there as in Norfolk, she enjoyed the company of Jehovah's Witnesses. She always opened the door for them and thanked them for a new issue of Watchtower. She read them each night before going to bed.

Geraldine was predeceased by her mother, Doris Jones Grant, father, William Jones, Grandmother, Betty Wilson, uncle, Harry Wilson, stepfather, Joseph Grant, sister, Angeline Hugo, husband, Burley Johnson, grandson, Douglas Evans, Jr., and daughter Judith James.

She is survived by her step sister, Gloria Grant; daughter, Linda Evans (Doug); son Wayne Johnson (Glen); grandchildren, Chris Evans (Chirleen), Andy Wilson, Ashley Bell (Scott), step grandchildren, Stephanie Manning and Sara James; and great grandchildren, Gabby, Jupiter, Jacob Charles, and Zayne.

Her surviving family members and friends remember her life and the impact she had on all. A graveside service will be held Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens, 6309 E. Virginia Beach Blvd, Norfolk, Virginia 23502.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.woodlawnnorfolk.com for the Johnson family.