Shirley Bell Johnson

Shirley Bell Johnson of Lawrenceville, Georgia and St Lawrence Catholic Church died on Tuesday November 14 ^th , 2023, surrounded by loved ones. She was 89 years old.

Shirley was born in Fitzgerald, Georgia, the fourth of five children, and the first daughter of Nick & Mae Pope. Shirley graduated from Fitzgerald High School in 1953 and later that year was married to Richard Michael Johnson. Richard and Shirley moved to New England where they spent 14 years and were blessed with 6 children. They moved back to Georgia in 1967 and made their home in Lawrenceville. In 1975 the family was completed with the birth of their 7 ^th child.

Shirley was baptized in the Greek Orthodox faith as an infant and spent her youth in the Methodist and Baptist churches. As an adult she became a Roman Catholic, and raised her children in the Catholic faith.

Shirley was an active member of both her civic and spiritual communities. She truly had a servant’s heart and gave of herself freely. She required her family and inspired her friends to do the same. She was always the first volunteer to show up, and the last one to leave. And by-the-way, if you were not there 15 minutes early you were late!

While active in her children’s school communities, and engaged socially in whatever neighborhood she lived, Shirley’s life was centered around her faith and her family. She was a founding member of St Lawrence Catholic Church, which will celebrate it’s 50 ^th Anniversary as a Parish in 2024. She retired after decades of service to the Gwinnett County Public Schools and the children she fed there, and has since attended mass daily, served as a lead sacristan, and taken her turn laundering the sacred cloths used to celebrate the Eucharist. She previously served in leadership positions in many ministries, including being selected as the Parish Council President and the Woman of the Year. But Shirley was, for most people, the mother of the parish. She was everyone’s mother and advisor and friend and helper. Shirley loved freely and gave her all for our Lord Jesus Christ. This is how she will be remembered, as a daughter of Christ, and a faithful follower of Him.

Shirley was preceded in death by her youngest child and second daughter Marie Ann Johnson, her loving husband of 49 years Richard Michael Johnson, and recently by her 3 ^rd child and second son James Michael Johnson. She is survived by her daughter Julia Collins (Tim), and her sons Jerry Johnson (Janice), Kevin Johnson, Nicholas Johnson, and Chris Johnson (Kathy), and also by 18 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers Shirley had asked that donations be made to the Society of St Vincent de Paul Conference at St Lawrence Catholic Church or to the St Jude’s Children’s Hospital.