Lydia Cattell Johnson

Lydia Cattell Johnson, 98, passed away on Tuesday, January 1, 2013, at Appalachian Christian Village in Johnson City, Tenn. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 10, 1914, the daughter of James William and Mary Ellen Cattell. She graduated from Strayer, Bryant and Stratton College in Baltimore and attended Johns Hopkins University. In the 1930s, she worked as an executive secretary at the University of Maryland Hospital. After marrying Dr. F. Heisse Johnson in 1941, they moved to the Drew University campus in Madison, N. J. As the wife of a college professor and Methodist minister, she made international students welcome and developed friendships that have continued for over seventy years. She and her husband moved to Athens, Tenn., in 1952 when Dr. Johnson was appointed Dean at Tennessee Wesleyan College. When Dr. Johnson became Director of Christian Higher Education for the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church, the family moved to Johnson City. She has been active in the church and community. She was president of the Johnson City Monday Club and of the Mayne-Williams Library Board. She served as a volunteer for 17 years at Mountain Home Veterans Facility and 15 years at the Salvation Army soup kitchen. She was one of the oldest members of First United Methodist Church where she was active in many committees and held offices at the local, district and conference level of the United Methodist Women. She served as recording secretary for the Board of Trustees of the Holston Conference Colleges of the United Methodist Church from 1968 to 1984. In her spare time, she enjoyed gardening and sewing. She loved to travel--leading with her husband two tours to the Holy Land, traveling to many countries, and visiting friends in Lebanon, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Japan. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1993 and her granddaughter-in-law, Autumn Jennings in 2012. She is survived by her daughter, Merry Johnson Jennings, and her husband Ben, of Abingdon, Va.; her grandson, Dr. Will Jennings and two great-grand-daughters, Aurora Whitley (Rory) Jennings and Ariana Lydia (Aly) Jennings of Knoxville; a sister-in-law, Ina Johnson of Bel Air, Maryland; and four nieces and their families. The family would like to thank her caregivers Cricket Shinn, Linda Jenkins, and Holly Church for their loving and knowledgeable care. A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church on Saturday, January 5 at 2:00 p.m., with Rev. Garland Thayer officiating. The family will receive friends the hour before the service. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Heisse Johnson Hand Up Program, 926 W. Oakland Ave., #214, Johnson City, Tenn. 37601 or to First United Methodist Church, 900 Spring Street, Johnson City, Tenn. 37604. A private graveside service will be held later at Holston Conference Cemetery in Emory, Va..