Opal Clemmons Johnson

Opal Clemmons Johnson, age 82, of Lexington passed away Thursday morning (January 13, 2011) at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Funeral service will be held at 2:00 pm Sunday (January 16, 2011) at First Baptist Church with Dr. Ray Howell, 3rd and Rev. Tommy Wilson officiating. The family will receive friends following the service in the church fellowship hall. Burial will be 11:00 am Monday at Rocky River Baptist Church Cemetery in Siler City. Mrs. Johnson was born August 6 1928, in New Hanover County, to Thurston Clemmons Sr. and Lena Danford Clemmons. After living on a farm in Brunswick County, her family moved to Myrtle Beach in 1938. She graduated from Myrtle Beach High School in 1945, earned her BA from Meredith College in 1949 and continued on to earn her Masters from University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She taught school in Brevard and Lexington and served as Principal at Eanes, Cecil and South Lexington for 30 years. She was a member of North Carolina Retired School Personnel. Mrs. Johnson was a dedicated member of First Baptist Church since 1952, serving as a Sunday school teacher, deacon, leader of the Frady/Johnson Group and chairman of The Health and Wellness Council. She served as President of Delta Kappa Gamma and was a member of the Garden Makers. Mrs. Johnson was also very active in the Meredith College Alumnae. She was someone who always found room in her garden for an extra flower, a perch at her feeder for another bird and a place in her heart for any stray cat. In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her husband, Wade William Johnson on October 2, 2008. Surviving are: one daughter, Mary Beth Pfaff and husband, John III, of Chester, NJ; one son, William D. Johnson and wife, Kathryn, of Fort Mill, SC; four grandchildren, Katherine Elizabeth Pfaff of Basking Ridge, NJ, William H. Pfaff of Chester, NJ, Emily Elizabeth Johnson and Walter William Johnson both of Fort Mill, SC.; brother, Major Thurston Clemmons Jr. of Bolivia, NC; brother-in-law, Paul D. Johnson of Siler City; sister-in-law, Sarah J. McPherson of Snow Camp; 10 beloved nieces and nephews; and her dearest cousin, Kenneth Swain of Myrtle Beach, SC. Memorials should be directed to First Baptist Church, PO Box 436, Lexington, NC 27292 or to donor’s favorite charity.