Vardiman Lee Johnson
June 8, 1943 – December 13, 2016
Funeral services for Vardiman Lee Johnson, 73, of Whigham, GA, are at 11:00 a.m., Friday, December 16, 2016, at Capel Baptist Church, Cairo, GA. Rev. Chad Cooper will officiate. Interment will be in Capel Baptist Church, Cairo, GA with military honors. Mr. Johnson passed away at Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville, GA, on Tuesday, December 13, 2016.
Honorary pallbearers will be Mitchell King, Tommy Gwaltney, Bobby Gwaltney, Mickey Gwaltney, Spencer Pitts, Mark Rutledge and Jackie Faircloth.
Mr. Johnson was born on June 8, 1943, in Boonville, MS, to the late Eugene Vardaman Johnson and Bertha Winsett Johnson. On March 16, 1975, he married Sandra Gwaltney Johnson, who survives. He served his country in the U.S. Air Force. After his air force career, he worked with Boeing Aircraft for 13 years. He was a member of Whigham Community Club and attended Capel Baptist Church.
Lee had friends all over the world. Many friends said he was a “special person.” If there was a crowd gathered, Lee was in the middle taking pictures and telling stories. In his later days, he was most content and happy at home with his wife, Sandra, and Tiger, his cat. When we see him again, he will have many more interesting stories to tell.
Survivors include: his wife, Sandra Gwaltney Johnson of Whigham, GA; daughter, Donna Lynn Scott of Whigham, GA; step-son, Bobby Joe Knight, Jr. (Tammy) of Whigham, GA; granddaughter, Amanda Hope Rutledge (Spencer) of Sanford, NC; great-grandchildren, Mia Hope Rutledge, Mark Dylan Rutledge, III, Bentleigh Paige Pitts, all of Sanford, NC; sisters, Marie Parks of Michigan City, IN, Georgia Lee Davenport of Humboldt, TN, and ZuAnn King of Booneville, MS; and a host of nieces, nephews, and extended family.
He was preceded in death by: his parents; his brother, Mose Johnson; brothers-in-law, Hoyle Parks, William King; and sister-in-law, Maxine Johnson.
Memorials may be made in Mr. Johnson’s memory to: Capel Baptist Church Building Fund, c/o Randy Smith, 1100 Pleasant Grove Road, Ochlocknee, GA 31773.
