Mae Johnson

1931 in Sherards, MS. The last of 11 children, Mae was a sickly child and had to

be physically carried by her brothers and sisters through most of her early years

until she could stand on her own. Mae Emma Hayes became Mrs. Robert

Johnson in Marion, Arkansas, on 17 May 1952. Robert and Mae Emma were

married 49 years until he died in 2001.

She was small but mighty and filled with faith in God and Jesus as her Savior.

Having put on the full armor of God, Mae Emma survived a severe Covid-19

infection in late summer 2020. However, she succumbed to a second Covid

infection (Omicron) and died, aged 90, on 2 Jan 2022 while residing at Shaker

Gardens Nursing and Rehabilitation facility in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Funeral

Arrangements are managed by Cummings and Davis Funeral Homeof Cleveland,

OH, and NJ Ford Funeral Home of Memphis, TN. Please consult online editions of

The Plain Dealer in Ohio and Commercial Appeal of Tennessee for updates on

arrangements for services in those states.

Mae Emma attended school in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Memphis, TN, ultimately

passing Tennessee’s Board of Nursing exams as a Licensed Practical Nurse in

1970. She retired in 1996 after having worked as a nurse at the former West

Tennessee Chest Disease, Baptist, and Methodist Hospitals of Memphis, TN, and

St. Alexis Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

Mae Emma was one of the original, old school “influencers” and has inspired no

less than five young black women to become nurses when the dropout rate

among black students was very high.

After retirement, Mae Emma was an avid traveler and lived in The United Arab

Emirates, Burundi, and Barbados. While living in the UAE, she served her country

as an escort at the U.S. Embassy Abu Dhabi for 18 months.

Mae Emma was a loving sister-in-law to Deloris Diane Ketchum, dedicated

mother to Michael Mems, Broderick, Veronica, and Angelo Johnson; and loving

grandmother to Micheal and Paschael D Mems, Lytia M, Keren A, Sheena L, and

Angel Johnson; Shannel and Barbara Sanders; and Shinika Hines. Phoenix Simms,

Dillion and Deleah Hines, Princeton Ivy, and Kingston Henderson were greatgrandchildren.

She was the matriarch of the Johnson and Hayes Families with 18

nieces, seven nephews, and two further generations of great and greatgreat-

grand nieces and nephews. Today, the Johnson and Hayes families extend

throughout the United States and will carry her memory in their hearts.