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Published by sas_p, 2021-03-31 06:25:24

Obituary

Nelson A. Johnson, Jr.


May 11, 1935 – March 11, 2021


N
elson Andrew Johnson, Jr., age 85, of Baltimore, MD, passed
away Thursday, March 11, 2021 after a brief illness. Nelson
was born and raised in Baltimore, to the late Nelson A. Johnson
Sr. and Augusta McKinney Johnson May 11, 1935. He is also preceded
in death by his first wife, Bertha E. Johnson; daughters, Valerie
Johnson, Sheila Johnson; son, Keith Shoats and granddaughter Raven
Nelson.

Nelson graduated from Douglas High School in 1952, just a few years
behind his older sister, Cynthia. They developed a beautiful bond that
grew tighter with time. As a big sister she took good care of him and as
they grew older they continued looking out for each other,
affectionately assigning to one another, the nickname, “Zero”.

At a young age, Nelson’s father encouraged him to begin reading the
Bible. Still a youth, he got far enough in his Bible reading to have
discovered God’s personal name, Jehovah. Years later, while working
for the MTA, from which he retired in 1998 after 43 years of service, he
became friends with one of his co-workers, Douglas Scott. During car
rides to and from work, Nelson asked lots of questions that Douglas
answered from the Bible. He eventually accepted a Bible study and
symbolized his dedication to Jehovah God by water baptism on May 11,
1962. On that day, Douglass gained a brother, in more ways than one
and they continued that friendship for the next 61 years.

Nelson has faithfully served as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses for the past
60 years. During this time, he has enjoyed the privilege of serving as an
elder and a Regular Pioneer. He cherished the privilege of attending
the Pioneer Service School. The ministry is what brought Nelson great
joy. He was known to rise early in the day to do public witnessing in
downtown Baltimore. Although in his later years, it became more
challenging for him to walk, he still never broke his routine of
preaching early in the morning. Even with the changing circumstances
due to the pandemic, Nelson continued steadfast in his ministry doing


letter writing and telephone witnessing. It was especially important for
him to tell others about our loving Creator and His Kingdom so when
the tide changed, he changed with it!

After several encounters with a beautiful sister in the circuit, Nelson
approached her and said, “since we keep bumping into each other like
this, we just ought to get together one day and talk about our
children.” And so they did. That led to dating, courtship and
eventually matrimony. The couple wed on October 12, 2014. Nelson
found in Juliet a loving and capable wife. They enjoyed 6 years of
marriage together.


Nelson was very proud of his family. For many, he was more than a
grandfather, he was their father. Affectionately called “Dad” by most,
he was an excellent provider and instilled in his sons the importance of
being good spiritual and material providers for their families. Nelson
understood in raising sons to be men you must have a friendship with
them. So he affectionately referred to his sons as “Pal”. This affection
extended to the young men in his congregation and throughout the
circuit, as he would often refer to them the same way! Nelson loved
seeing young men dedicate their lives to Jehovah and pursue Kingdom
interest. He wanted all in his family to have a personal relationship
with our creator, Jehovah God and with his son, Jesus Christ. He taught
his family by example the importance of being hard working and
generous, always ready to help others in times of need. Nelson
displayed strength and dignity and always seemed to have a solution
no matter what. Although we heard his stories many times over, we
loved them all, along with his quick wit and sense of humor. This is
what made him so approachable.

Surviving Nelson is his loving wife of 6 years, Juliet Johnson, sons, David
Johnson (Shawna), Jeffery Johnson (Charlotte) and daughter-in-law,
Terry Shoats; grandchildren, Trina Redmond, Damon Redmond, Steven
Johnson, Michael Jones (Dene), Tiffany Shoats, Berniece Gomez
(Anthony), Terron Thomas (Keenan), Megan Janvier (Benoit), Devin
Johnson, Amber Nelson and Jasmine Shoats; 23 great-grand children, 6
great great grandchildren; his sister Cynthia “Zero” Askew (James); his
niece Lorre-Anne Willis (Keith); his great niece and nephew, Naria and
Jason Willis and a host of family and friends.


Through The Years


Memorial Service



Chairman: Kevin Phipps

Family Slides: 3:00 – 3:15

Opening Song: 34 “Walking in Integrity”

Opening Prayer: Douglas Scott

Obituary: James Mitchell

Speaker: Wayne Henderson

Interview: Ralph Gentry

Acknowledgement: Kevin Phipps

Concluding Song: 139 “See Yourself When All Is New”

Closing Prayer: Wayne Henderson


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you for the love shown to our family during this challenging
time. We appreciate the many calls, text messages, cards, flowers and
most important, your prayers. Thank you for sharing your personal
stories of Nelson; it has brought us great joy to hear them all. May
Jehovah continue to bless you as you continue reaching out in your
service to Him.

The Family


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