Florene Crim Johnson

Some mothers become a matriarch by design, others by chance, some never at all. Our mother, Florene Crim Johnson, was, finally, a matriarch as the years flowed by. She passed away peacefully Tuesday, Aug 22nd, with her family standing by.

Of German and Scot-Irish descent, our mother lived to know of and see her great-great-grandchildren and to survive her oldest son, Bradley Joseph Johnson, and oldest daughter, Barbara Michelle Howard, and grandson, Justin Paul Howard. Born May 14, 1929 to Earl and Florabelle Crim of Jacksonville, Texas, our mother grew up with her sisters, Florence, Louise, and Joyce, all deceased previously, in Depression-era Port Arthur, Texas. Her brother, Rondo Crim, mourns with us along with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, our cousins, and good friends.

Like the others of her generation, she walked through WWII and its highs and lows, quitting school to take a job to support herself and her mother, and ultimately marrying our father, deceased, Bradley Joseph Jr., an Army private in 1946 based in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Our mother wanted to be a mother of many from her youth, though at the unique Franklin school in Port Arthur, she was also in the top of her class and ran with the smart set there, wishing to be a teacher just like the teachers she loved. Our mother experienced want in her youth and determined that her six children would not. She made good on that promise to herself and kept to it before and after our parents divorced, becoming a well-known waitress in Port Arthur’s seafood restaurants and later a pharmacy clerk at Howard’s Grocery, with our entire family benefiting by her hard work. Our mother never remarried but lived her simple and nearly Benedictine life in Port Arthur until she moved to Ava, Missouri for some years to live near our eldest brother and his family.

In her last years, she lived in Silsbee and Lumberton, near and then with her daughter Robin and under the care of her youngest daughter, Liz, and with the love and support of her daughter-in-law, Kathy Johnson of Ava, Missouri, her son, Arthor Dean Johnson, and daughter-in-law, Rosie, son, Gerald Glenn of Houston, Texas, and the many nieces, nephews, and  grandchildren who came to visit, call, and celebrate holidays. Though her parents were divorced in her youth, she loved her father greatly and chose to be buried next to him in Jacksonville, Texas.

A memorial service and Christian burial will be held this fall with family and friends attending. Those who wish to honor our mother can donate or participate in the Arbor Day Foundation, for our mother loved trees and supported good stewardship of the environment. She was a great reader and friend of the Silsbee Library, as well as a Daughter of the American Revolution, Ava, Missouri Chapter. We thank all the wonderful and helpful caregivers who helped our family through the last few years. Our mother had our deepest respect and love and always will.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Florene Crim Johnson, please visit our floral store.