Nita Hollar Johnson

Nita Hollar Johnson, 76, of Trent Woods, North Carolina passed away on Monday, March 20, 2023 of complications from diabetes and non-operable pancreatic cancer.  Nita was born on December 11, 1946 in Hickory, North Carolina to the late Arron Lee Hollar and Hazel Fox Hollar.

Nita loved the beach, snow, Christmas-time, and decorating for holidays, especially Christmas. Nita’s favorite sport was basketball, and when she was in the 5th grade she helped create a girls’ basketball team at the local YMCA in Atlanta, GA after learning the game from the boys’ basketball team. She went on to earn a spot on the regional All-Star team prior to her move to New Bern, NC during middle school. It was always her regret that her family had to move to New Bern before she was able to play in the first All Star game. Nita was a lifelong avid Elvis Presley fan, and was proud to have attended an Elvis concert when she was younger. She met her future husband Ed Johnson in high school during their junior year and they married in 1967. This month marks Nita’s 56th wedding anniversary.

Nita was a people person. She loved people, puppies and dogs, trees and flowers, but what she loved most of all were babies and small children. Nita started baby-sitting at an early age, and she had a special gift to understand and interact with children. She taught and nurtured them and they all loved her. In her adult life, Nita worked in a number of different areas; she was a dependable administrative assistant to both a local engineering firm as well as a large national corporation. Although she was an accomplished business person, her first love was always teaching children. Nita was dedicated to each of her jobs and worked hard. She was a perfectionist, wanting everything to be just right. Nita’s most important job in her life was raising her two children, Eddie and Laurie, to become responsible, productive members of society and she did that job exceedingly well. When her children were younger, Nita loved to paint, cross-stitch, and create fun gifts, and she always encouraged her children to be creative. As Eddie and Laurie grew, Nita was always very proud of all of their accomplishments. She was thrilled to become a grandmother and loved listening to the ideas and stories of her grandchildren.

Left to cherish Nita’s memory, are her husband of 56 years, Edward Johnson; son Edward Johnson, Jr. and wife Tara; daughter Laurie Johnson Vahlsing and husband Kurt; grandchildren, Kaitlyn and Matthew Johnson, "Ellie" and "Merrie" Vahlsing; brother Gary Hollar and wife Missy; nephews Steven and Gary Lee Hollar, niece Leigh Anne Hollar; and uncle Flake Fox. In addition to her parents, Nita is predeceased by her grandparents Rosa and Ransom Fox, and Leana and John Hollar.

The Johnson family would like to thank the nurses, medical assistants, and physicians of Carolina East Medical Center for their attentiveness and compassion during this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Nita Johnson’s name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at https://www.stjude.org/