Joseph C. Johnson

Joseph Carey Johnson passed away peacefully in his home on Wednesday, July 13, 2010 at the age of 92 after a 25-year struggle with Inclusion Body Myositis. Jay was born January 15, 1918 in Bunkie, Louisiana to Emory Silas Johnson and Viola Dupree Johnson. He was a track star at Bunkie High School and Louisiana State University, excelling in the high hurdle. Jay graduate from LSU in 1940 with a BS in Geology and Geophysics. He joined Carter Oil Company but left on Military Leave in July of 1941 to serve in World War II as a Captain in the Army Corp of Engineers. In December of 1941, he married the love of his life, Winnie Mae Nettles. Jay and Winnie had two children, Kathy and Byron.

Jay returned to Carter Oil after the War and held several geophysical positions in Arkansas and Oklahoma. In September 1950, his Army Corp of Engineers was called back to active duty and he served as a Major at Camp Carson, Colorado and at General McArthur’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Once more, he returned to Carter Oil, working in Montana, Wyoming, and Mississippi. In 1957, Jay accepted a position with Esso Dansk and the family moved to Randers, Denmark. He continued his foreign assignment with a move to Tripoli, Libya, with Esso Libya where he was Geophysical Supervisor.

The family returned to the States in September 1961 when Jay was transferred to New Orleans with Humble Oil and he shifted his career focus to offshore exploration. In 1966, Jay and Winnie moved to Houston where he held various positions in Exxon USA’s Offshore Exploration Division. For the last decade of his career, he was the Manager of Esso Seismic, an Exxon offshore exploration company. Jay retired from Exxon in 1988.

Jay was a world traveler both during and after his career. He was one of the first representatives of Exxon to visit China to negotiate off shore leases. Jay and Winnie enjoyed taking Elderhostel tours where they combined their love of exploring different cultures and cultures with education and learning. They toured the Greek Islands, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, most of continental Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jamaica, and Panama and took a cruise barge down the Rhine and the Nile.

Jay was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 63 years, Winnie Nettles Johnson; his sister, Hilda Johnson Butler; and his parents, Emory and Viola Johnson. He is survived by his daughter, Kathy Johnson Luck; his son, Byron Carey Johnson and his wife, Rene; his two grandsons, Shane C. Johnson and his wife Tara; and Carter H. Johnson, and his wife Suzy; his two great-grandchildren, Haley Johnson and Ryan Johnson all of Kingwood, Texas; his nephew, Keith Butler and his wife Donna of Plano, Texas; his cousins, Gary Dupree and his wife Joyce of Shreveport, Louisiana; and Gene McConnell of Potomac, Maryland.

The family would like to thank Champions Home Health Care and especially Alma, Debbie, Jennifer, Audrey and Shantay for the wonderful care they provided these past several years. We would also like to thank Grace Hospice for making his passage from this life a peaceful experience. A celebration of Jay’s life will be held at the Kingwood United Methodist Church on Saturday, July 24 at 3:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Kingwood United Methodist Church or to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.