Lora Mae Johns-Redd

8/25/1918 - 10/20/2012

Lora went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Saturday, October 20, 2012.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Joshua Redd, her parents J. Cleveland and Annie-Turner Johns of Chipley, Florida, her sisters Vivian Duncan and Sarah Herndon and many other’s including her dearest cousins Phoebe and Jake Master.

Lora was born in her parent’s Wausau, Florida home. During her childhood she helped her Papa Johns in his feed store. In the Johns Family Singers, Lora played the mandolin at many of the Pentecostal revivals in the Florida Panhandle and Georgia.

She received her teacher’s certificate from Florida College for Women. She was an artist, musician, world traveler and resided at 5123 Misty Lane, Pasadena, Texas.

Lora is survived by her two daughters Lora Richey and Salena McClendon. Other surviving family members are son-in-law James Richey, Grand-daughters Melissa Moore, Valerie Moore-Bates, Lori Richey-Hearon and Kerry Moore-Leenhouts, grand son-in-laws Joshua Hearon, James Bates, and Alan Leenhouts, great-grand children James Bates, Jr., Caden Bates, Audrey Bates and Andrew Leenhouts.

A Son-In-Law’s

Tribute To

LORA MAE JOHNS-REDD

8/25/18 - 10/20/12

3:00 P.M.

October 24, 2012

By

James William Richey

Lora went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Saturday, October 20, 2012. After greeting Jesus, she hugged her loving husband, Joe Redd, her parents Juils and Annie Johns, her sisters Vivian Duncan and Sarah Herndon and many other relatives and friends including her cousins Phoebe Johns-Master and Jake Master.

By now she and her family have reassembled their Johns’ family instrumental and singing group and she is playing a heavenly version of her Gibson mandolin. Oh, if she could have had that heavenly mandolin in all those Pentecostal revivals she played at in the Florida Panhandle and southeast Georgia.

During their musical intermissions, she and her family are talking about what an upgrade their heavenly mansion is to the humble home of their birth in Waussau, Florida.

Lora is amazed at the scenes of beauty she would be challenged to capture with her artist’s brush on earth, but come so naturally in Heaven. They are scenes that are more captivating than the many sites she saw on planet earth. The colors of the tulips of Amsterdam were never so vivid, the snows of the Swiss Alps were never as white as Jesus robe, the glass of Venice, Italy did not sparkle like the jewels on the walls of heaven, the Persian rugs of the orient were not as intricately woven as the tapestries of heaven and the silks of Hong Kong were not as fine as the robes of the righteous in Heaven.

Lora will reminisce about their days at the Florida College for Women (later merged into Florida State University) with her sisters. For the first time her sisters will get the real details on how she fell in love with a young Joe Redd in Tallahassee.

I am sure they will get around to talking about their experiences at Poppa Johns’ feed store. Lora is probably teasing Vivian and Sarah since she never had to haul any of those large sacks of feed to a customer’s barn. And, Poppa Johns has by now found out that his sweet baby girl, Lora Mae, didn’t always count the garden plants that she helped pack for shipment throughout the United States. Some gardener in New York or Iowa got way more sweet potato slips than they paid for.

Lora is enjoying bringing her parents up to date on the lives of her daughters Lora Ann Richey and Selena Beth Moore.

The conversation with her sisters, who also spent more than 90 years on planet earth, has or soon will turn to the biblical instructions of Psalm 91. This of course, is the Psalm that promises long life and salvation to those who serve the Lord as they did. And if Lora could speak to her granddaughters Valerie Bates and Kerrey Leenhouts she would remind them to take heed to Psalm 91 and make sure that her grand sons-in-law James Bates and Alan Leenhouts bring up her g-grand children James Bates, Jr , Caden Bates, Audrey Bates and Andrew Leenhouts in the fear and the admonition of the Lord. She would give the same admonition to grand-daughters Lori Richey-Hearon and Melissa Moore and grand son-in-law Joshua Hearon for any great- grandchildren they may bring into this world

Yes, Momma Redd, we know that Jesus sent his angles to help you cross the River Jordan. Ann and I had prayed on Saturday morning that Jesus would either heal you completely or help you peacefully cross Jordan. Shortly after, you closed your eyes in what can only be described as a heavenly peace and were welcomed into heaven’s portals. That afternoon when we picked up your granddaughter Lori at Hobby Airport, she told us that on her drive to the Amarillo airport Saturday morning, as she was praying she felt the presence of the three angels that were on their way to help usher you into to Heaven.

And so to our dearest Mother and Grandmother who we affectionately called Nanny, Grandma and Momma Redd, we thank God for your life. Thank you for sharing your life, talents and personality with us. I will miss those birthday calls which you enjoyed singing happing birthday to me on the phone. You always ended those birthday songs with “And many more”. Well, now you will have many happy heavenly days . We look forward to the day when we meet you in that great city where He is the Light.

A Grand-Daughter’s

Tribute To

Lora Mae Johns-Redd

(08/25/1918 – 10/20/2012)

3:00 PM

October 24, 2012

By

Lori Jon Richey-Hearon

Country breakfast, panoche bars, mayhaw jelly were some of my Nanny’s chef specials. She made three meals a day. In the South we call this breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Lora Mae loved growing her own vegetables on their three acre property in Livingston. On the weekends she went to the farmers market to trade produce. This is where she got her farm fresh eggs. If you blindfolded her she could tell you the difference between the farm fresh egg and the store bought egg by the way the yoke fell when the egg was cracked. Those farm fresh eggs just might be the secret to her famous pound cake.

The long humid East Texas summers were spent shelling peas and de-pooping shrimp on Nanny’s back porch. When the humidity got to be too much we picked watermelons from the garden and sat on the front porch slurping down their delicious juice on coke trays and watching the logging trucks roll by on Highway 190. On special occasions the slip and slides came out (notoriously placed on a mega ant bed) with the ice cream maker and the croquet set.

There were many past times at Nanny’s house besides eating, those included fishing, feeding the ducks, western movies, Skip Bo, and bird watching. I was amazed how much hummingbirds loved my Nanny, until I realized we were feeding them sugar water.

When I wasn't totally exhausted from playing too hard the day before or itchy and covered in Calamine lotion from the dreaded poison ivy I had gotten in yet again down by the pond, I was eager to wake up before anyone else in the house. I would sneak into bed with Nanny, and Poppie would pretend to be sleeping. We would giggle and tell stories until Poppie’s stomach could take it no more and breakfast had to be made.

Church was a Sunday affair at the Redd House. There was never an excuse worthy of skipping out. Everyone piled into whatever big Lincoln they owned at the time in our Sunday best to warm the pews. The arrival was rarely prompt because if there was one thing Nanny didn't do it was arrive anywhere early.

At spring time the best prize golden Easter egg could be found on those three acres mixed in with the beautiful azaleas, pine tree needles, hanging baskets, Texas star flower bed, or the red barn. The Easter Bunny, aka the burglar, would hide 100 plus eggs on the property and inevitably forget all the spots. Nanny would then spend the better of six months sniffing out all the rotten eggs and candy. It was rare she made it to them before the possums did.

Shopping was one of Nanny’s past times. Poppie may have moved her out to the country from her city house on Meadow Creek in Pasadena but he wasn't going to take the city out of her. She could wear anyone out on her marathon trips. You would be surprised how many different styles SAS shoes she had in the 80’s. I can tell you all the makes and style numbers along with how each style contours to your foot.

You might think that her life had been tame until you stopped to listen to all her stories. Nanny was a world traveler starting at an early age in the family band. She was quite the musician, one that played solely by ear. She made the Mandolin and Piano sing. She would always say she was “rusty” after she had played a piece. If that was rusty I can't imagine her in her prime.

Amsterdam, Swiss Alps, Venice, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Hawaii are some of the places she visited. The world traveler that she was, her two favorite places in the world where Florida and Livingston, TX in the good ole USA. I imagine the country house could be the rough draft plans for her place in Heaven, minus the fire ants and poison ivy.

Nanny had a way of reminding people to speak in their prayer language when she would talk about the “Big Tent Revivals”. Her heart truly was eager for everyone to make it with her to Heaven. She never forgot to tell you to play by the rules and don't do anything she wouldn't do, with a wink.

She had a “rule” about not marking in her good “Sunday Bible,” so I was surprised to find she had broken her own rule for this one scripture with the mark of a pen. “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are new”( 2 Corinthians 5:1). This verse sums up Nanny’s spiritual legacy and what she wanted for her family and those around her. She wanted everyone to live out what we were created for, to become a new being in Christ.

I believe Poppie was waiting for her on the front porch in his white rocking chair as she crossed over to her new world...her eternal place with Jesus.