MGySGT Ray Curtis Johnson, US Marine Corps (Ret.), age 85, of Douglasville, Georgia passed away Tuesday, August 17, 2021. He was born July 16, 1936 in Abingdon, Virginia. Ray graduated from University of Maryland with a B.S. in Management. He proudly served his country for 28 years in the United States Marine Corps and retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant. Ray was lovingly known as “Bata” by his wife, which means baby in Filipino. He would always say “Thank you, Honey” to his wife when she would bring him food or anything he needed, and always called her “Honey Love” or “Ev Hun”. Ray was regimented in his civilian life, with a daily routine of putting on the coffee, reading the newspaper, working sudoku puzzles and going to his garden—seven days a week. He loved being outdoors and working in his organic vegetable garden. Ray was especially proud of his heirloom tomatoes, bitter melon, and hot peppers which he sold at various farmer’s markets. He also loved giving away his vegetables to the community like the bank tellers, doctor’s office, and local restaurants. In his spare time, he enjoyed golfing, was an avid Falcon’s football fan, and was a chocolate aficionado. One of his life’s lessons was, “a meal is not complete unless it is finished with chocolate.” Ray was stubborn—still doing things he didn’t need to be doing no matter how much his body did not want to cooperate with him.
Preceding him in death were his parents, Howard and Nellie (Clapp) Johnson; step-father, Curtis Stapleton; sister, Roslyn Johnson; and brother, Don Johnson.
Those left to cherish his memory are his beloved wife of more than 47 years, Evelyn Lagpao Johnson; son, Ray Curtis Johnson, II; daughters, Jennifer Johnson (Jon Blank), Debbie Davis (Troy) and Denise Marshall (Dwayne); sister, Paula Laurens (Ben); grandchildren, Johnathon Conant, Anthony Conant, Gregory Conant and Savannah Johnson; three great-grandchildren; as well as several nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 from 3:00 PM until 6:45 PM. The funeral service will follow at 7:00 PM in the Rosehaven Chapel. Ray will be laid to rest at Georgia National Cemetery on Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 2:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in memory of MGySGT Ray Johnson to Paralyzed Veterans of America at www.pva.org
Please take time to leave condolences with the family or share memories of Ray by visiting www.whitleygarner.com.
Services have been entrusted to the care of Whitley-Garner at Rosehaven Funeral Home, 8640 Rose Avenue, Douglasville, Georgia 30134
