Charles T Johnson

Charles Thomas Johnson, retired maintenance electrician at Ford’s Claycomo, MO plant, general contractor, builder, handy man, farmer, and realtor was born on August 5, 1929 in DeKalb County, MO, and passed away two weeks shy of his 82nd birthday on July 22, 2011 in Bel Aire, KS. On June 15 Charles had been married to Mary Kathryn Bowman for 59 years. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict, Charlie and Mary Kay settled in Spokane, WA, where Charlie built 175 homes and several commercial buildings. Chuck worked at the Ford plant for 22 years while also building houses, helping friends with remodeling, running laundry mats, and raising beef cattle. Chuck and Mary Kay were active members of Pistols and Petticoats Square Dance Club. Charles was a life member of the Liberty Masonic Lodge #31 A.F. & A. M., a 32⁰ Mason, a member of the Scottish Rite, a life member of the Ararat Shrine Temple and its Legion of Honor in Kansas City, MO, and an associate member of the El Zaribah Temple in Phoenix, AZ. He made 60 trips driving patients in the Ararat Temple van from Kansas City to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in St. Louis. After retiring in 1990 from Ford, Chuck and Mary Kay moved to Sun City/Sun City West, AZ. At 70 years of age, both went to school and became realtors, listing and selling many homes in the Sun Cities. Chuck never met a stranger, had a passion for helping people with home improvements and repairs, and worked very hard at winning always spirited card games with his friends. Charles was preceded in death by his parents, Byron P. and Irene L. (Mills) Johnson, and his sister Doris I. Carlson. He is survived by his wife Mary Kay and his daughter Vicki of Bel Aire, KS, his daughter Valerie O’Keefe and her husband Mike of Baton Rouge, LA, his sister Pauline Lollar of Gladstone, MO, and a host of nieces, nephews, and their families. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Ararat Shrine Hospital Transportation Fund, 5100 Ararat Drive, K.C., MO 64129. Visitation will be on Monday, July 25 from 6–8 p.m. and Tuesday, July 26 at 1 p.m. at Mt. Moriah Terrace Park, 801 N.W. 108th St., Kansas City, MO. Funeral service to follow at 2 p.m.

Arrangements under the direction of Mount Moriah Terrace Park Funeral Home, Kansas City, MO.