Ruebel Funeral Home

Robert William Johnson

Robert William Johnson

Robert William Johnson, 90, retired United Methodist minister, died Friday, February 12 at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock while surrounded by his loving family. He was born April 25, 1919 in Jersey, AR to Annie Anders and James Patterson Johnson. One of nine children, Robert was preceded in death by his parents, one sister and four brothers. He is survived by his devoted wife of almost 67 years, Helen Porter Johnson, three children, six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. His loving family includes son Robert W. “Bob” Johnson and wife Kathy of Powder Springs, GA, son Keith Gordon Johnson and wife Debbie of Collierville, TN and daughter Becky Johnson Kossover and husband Jerry of Little Rock. Surviving grandchildren include Mark (Andrea) and children Liliana Elyse and Jessalyn Helen of Memphis, TN; Angela (Todd) Dodge and children Mason William (his namesake) and Owen Stewart of Colorado Springs, CO; Kara (Jeremy) Myers and daughter Claire Elizabeth and Russ (Cathi) Johnson and son Tyler Stephens all of Marietta, GA; Ashley Johnson of Nashville, TN; and Erin (Adam) Anglin of Denver, CO. He is also survived by two sisters, Frances “Hank” Holderfield of Hot Springs, Mary Lee of Warren and a brother, James “Pete” Johnson of Benton.

Having grown up on a farm helping his dad raise and pedal fresh produce over much of Arkansas, Robert joined the US Army Air Force in 1940, soon after graduating from Hermitage High School, and was stationed at Willow Run in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He had already fallen for a nearby farm girl, his “sweetie”, whom he finally convinced to come see him in the spring of 1943. Once there, he persuaded her to drop out of college, stay and marry him. They were fortunate to have families near the base who gave them a big wedding, providing everything from a wedding dress to the flower girls on March 17, 1943. They stayed in touch with these families, especially the flower girls, all these years. His only regret at leaving this world was not being able to continue taking care of Helen.

In 1946, Robert and Helen returned with an 18 month old daughter to Bradley County, purchased a farm and began what Robert called “some hard years”. After several years, Robert gave up on farming and joined an older brother in the oil business in Houston for a year “making the most money I ever made”. The Lord, however, had other plans for Robert and Helen. Expecting their third child, they returned a year later having realized he was being called into the ministry. Starting his career as a United Methodist minister at age 33 in McRae, AR in 1952, Robert attended Hendrix College and Perkins Theological Seminary in Dallas during summers to complete the requirements needed to pastor a Methodist congregation. Over the next thirty-one years, he served congregations in Plummerville, Melbourne, Murfreesboro, Little Rock Hunter Memorial, Salem/Congo, Benton Parkview, Stamps, Pine Bluff Carr, Marysville/Silver Hill, Springhill/Deann and Bearden/Thornton.

During his last years as a pastor, Robert and Helen purchased her family farm in Calhoun County and he began the joy of building their retirement home near Hampton, AR. He took great pride in having designed the home and used some wood from Helen’s grandparents home built prior to the civil war in the décor. They spent 17 happy years there planting gardens, building a pond, using fresh spring water and hosting a slew of family and friends. Their favorite pastime was to attend Razorback football and basketball games as often as possible. Having become acquainted with the “Razorback Nation” in the late 1950’s, through tickets provided by a parishioner, they began to purchase season tickets as soon as they could afford it. They were known to drive as far as the Carolina’s to attend a basketball game and to all the surrounding states to attend football games. While Arkansas was still a Southwest Conference school, the Johnson’s’ were regular attendees at the SWC tournaments, bringing children and grandchildren along with them. After moving to Little Rock to a retirement center in 1999, they were able to attend even more games in Fayetteville. While in the retirement centers, Robert became known as the “hog caller” because he led the residents in the “hog call” during lunch on Razorbacks game days! It was one of the hardest days of his life when, at age 87, he had to admit that vertigo and vision problems meant he could no longer attend games. But he never failed to watch or listen to a game until the last few weeks of his life. His children knew the end was near when, after breaking a hip in mid December, he never fully regained his interest in the Razorbacks.

A visitation will be held at Ruebel Funeral Home, 6313 W. Markham St., from 2-4 PM on Sunday, February 14. A celebration of life service will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, February 15 at Trinity United Methodist Church, Mississippi and Evergreen. A private graveside service will follow Tuesday morning at Pinecrest Cemetery. Officiating will be Associate Pastor Rev. Candance Barron. Funeral arrangements are by Ruebel Funeral Home, 6313 W. Markham. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Robert and Helen Johnson Endowment Fund at the Methodist Children’s Home, the original component of Methodist Family Health on Aldersgate Road, PO Box 56050, Little Rock, AR 72215. www.ruebelfuneralhome.com

Condolence Book

"My thoughts and prayers are with you all. I remember such happy times in your home in Murfreesboro."
Almeda McCormack | Benton, AR | mccoral@att.net

"Helen,
I am so sorry to hear about Bob. I have such wonderful memories of both of you from Pleasant Hills. I always enjoyed hearing how you met in the Tomato Patch. You were big fans of my "block parties"! You loved my Toss Across game. I remember asking at one of the parties who would Bob invite to dinner, if he could invite anyone...he of course said Jesus but he also wanted Matt Jones to attend...a true Razorback fan. Thank you for staying in touch with me and coming to visit me at Woodland Heights. I enjoyed getting to see your home at Good Shepherd as well. If I can do anything for you or your family, please let me know. I am now at Presbyterian Village. You and your family will be in my prayers.
Love, Dawn
"
Dawn Yakoubian | Little Rock, AR | dawnyakoubian@comcast.net

"I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with your family. Simply the best."
Barbara Hager | Little Rock, AR | pinkrib@comcast.net

"So sorry to hear of our loss. You are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."
Keith & Becky Morgan Cheney | White Hall, AR | arkbecks@sbcglobal.net

"Robin and I extend our sympathy and want you all to know that we will miss Uncle Robert. He will be missed by the Johnson family."
Jesse and Robin Johnson | Bradford, , RI | jesrob05@aol.com

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Aunt Helen, Bob, Keith, Becky and their families today. "
Pete and Carolyn Gibson | Foley, AL | cgibsonjg@gulftel.com

Doug Cox | Conway, AR | luminator@sbcglobal.net

"May I extend my deepest sympathy to all of the family. I remember Reverend Johnson as the pastor at Bearden/Thornton charge. I was the organist/pianist at the time he served as minister.
May God bless you at this time.
"
Dawn Dobson | Little Rock, AR | dawn.dobson@sbcglobal.net

"Becky, I am so sorry about the loss of your precious Dad. You will miss him, but I know have a lot of great memories that will help. My prayers are with you and all your family. "
Glenna Waters Butler | North Little Rock, AR | glennaj@aol.com

" We were saddened by the death of Robert. They were our neighbors for a number of years at Hampton and enjoyed the yearly get=together of neighbors there at their home. We are truly sorry Helen but you have a lot of faith and will just have to trust in the Lord and he will see you through. We love you dearly, Jimmy and Onnye "
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Newton | Hampton, AR |

"On behalf of all of Robert and Helen's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. We are blessed to have such astounding support during this time and cannot express fully how meaningful it is to hear stories and memories from people who love Robert. Although we will miss him greatly, we know he is in a better place and that he lived a long and full life. He will always be daddy, grandaddy, great pa, husband and friend. "
Erin Johnson Anglin | Denver, CO |

"Helen, Becky, Bobby & Keith, You were so blessed to have had your dad for as long as you did. He was very special and so are all of you. I have such fond memories of your family's time in Murfreesboro. You haven't been forgotten here."
Jane Bryant Kizzia | Murfreesboro, AR | sjkizz@directv.net

"Aunt Helen what a sad day with Uncle Robert's passing away. Knowing his love for God we know he enjoyed the final journey of his life with Christ. You and Uncle Robert were like my second set of parents and I will always be thankful you two were part of my life. I always cherish the memory of you and Robert coming to Austin and watching the Razorback beat the Longhorns. The loss was tough for me but I will have that memory of the smiles on your faces that day in Austin. Your husband is and was a great man and influence in my life. God Bless you and all my cousins. Our prayers are with you. Love Dan & Sandi Oliver"
Dan & Sandi Oliver | Converse, TX | doliver3577@gmail.com

"Dear Bob and Family,
My thoughts and prayers are with you all. I read the obituary and can't imagine how pleased and proud you must be to have been a part of this mans life. God truly had great plans for his life and it appears that he answered with a big "yes" to them. I am sure that the Kingdom of Heaven has been enriched by his service to the Lord. I know his passing here on earth is painful, but thankfully you can rest assured he is in his eternal home with our Father God. May God comfort you and bless you! Lanette"
Lanette Shaw | Acworth, GA | lshaw@millercompany.com

"Mrs. Johnson, Bobby, Becky and Keith: Our deepest sympathy to you all on the passing of Reverend Johnson. We have fond memories of all of you during your time in Murfreesboro. "Reverend Bob" always impressed us as the kindest, gentlest man we had ever met. God bless you all!"
Howard & Jean Shahan | Plano, TX | howards@shahanpaint.com

"Extending heartfelt sympathy to the Johnson family. I have such wonderful memories of you from your time spent in Murfreesboro and at abjures mmy home church. "
Kay Johnson Sullivan | Little Rock, AR | jksullivan1229@att.net

"So sorry for your loss. We too have fond memories of your kind and friendly father, Brother Johnson.
Mike remembers Bobby being such a good athlete in high school and seeing him at the U of A in ROTC. Brother Johnson he was proud of all his children, grandchildren and greats.
Love to you all. Mike and Sarita Floyd"
Mike and Sarita (Terrell) Floyd | Murfreesboro, AR | smfloyd41@windstream.net

"Mrs. Helen and Family,
We are so sorry for your loss,which is heaven's gain. My special memories of Bro. Johnson were from a computer class that I taught in Hampton a short time before you moved to Little Rock. He wanted to contact his children and "grands" by e-mail, so bought a complete computer system. Sometimes my phone would ring and he would say that he had pushed this button and something happened. He wondered if I could help him get it straightened out. We would stay on the phone trying to "troubleshoot" until we resolved the problem. He was such a delight.

It was also so evident how devoted he was to his sweet wife and you to him. Thank you for the sweet memories of kindness and devotion. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Love, Janie and Joe Reaves "
Joe and Janie Reaves | Tinsman, AR | jreaves42@yahoo.com

"I really appreciate all your thoughts. Also, I enjoy seeing names of people I have not seen or heard from in years, especially friends from Murfreesboro & Little Rock."
Bob Johnson | Powder Springs, GA | BJOHNSON@MILLERCOMPANY.COM

"Thank you all for the wonderful messages...many form those from years past. We all have fond memories of Murfreesboro days it seems! We greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers. We had a wonderful celebration with all dad's children and grandchildren last Monday! We were only missing a few in-law grands and great grands. He would have loved it!"
Becky Johnson Kossover | LITTLE ROCK, AR | becky.kossover@att.net

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