Freddie Lee Johnson Jr.

Freddie Lee Johnson, Jr. was born in Montgomery, Alabama on October 8, 1934. He was the son of the late Julia Mae Jones and Freddie Lee Johnson Sr. He went home to be with the Lord on December 7, 2016 at All Saints Hospital in Racine, WI.

He married Ilar Doris Hatcher in 1954 and from this union there were 5 children. In 1976 he married Pat Zirnhelt and they have one son.

Freddie had a wonderful life and enjoyed it to the fullest. He had a great sense of humor and could bring peace to the most difficult situations. He and Pat loved to travel and had been to many wonderful places, including Mexico, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, and various states throughout the country.

He proudly served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, 2 months and 28 days (as he would say). Some of the many places he was stationed at included French Morocco, Clark AB, Philippines (2 tours), Cape Charles, VA, Reno, NV, Vietnam (3 tours), and Andrews AFB, MD. He belonged to the American Legion, Post 546, and looked forward to attending their annual conference in Appleton, WI.

After retiring from the military, he worked at the Officer’s Club in Washington, D.C. until moving to Milwaukee, WI in 1981.

Freddie loved the Lord and joined the Church of the Living God, Temple 132, in 1982. He served as a Trustee and then became a Deacon. He particularly enjoyed Sunday School, under the instruction of Sister Sarah Monk.

Freddie was employed as a teaching assistant for Milwaukee Public Schools at Brown Street Academy. He was loved and appreciated by the teachers and students. At the same time, he also worked for Anew Home Health Care for 20 years, performing in-home nursing. He gave excellent care to his patients and they loved him dearly.

He loved his home, Alabama, and looked forward to going there every November to attend the Turkey Day Classic football game at Alabama State University. He was an active member of the Alabama State Alumni.

Singing with different groups brought him great enjoyment. He was a former member of the Community Chorale for Christ in Milwaukee.

After moving to Sturtevant, WI in 2007, he walked at Regency Mall where he met many friends and had his own “social network.”

He loved his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and was proud of their accomplishments. He will be dearly missed by his loving wife of forty years, Pat; his children, Yvonne Walley, Freddie Lee Johnson III, Carolyn (Homer) Cunningham, Deidre Johnson and Anthony Johnson; 8 grandchildren: Denarin (Skylar), Adrian, Redmond, Freddie IV, Timothy, Bryan, Karisma and Jasmine; 7 great-grandchildren: Ryan, Brielle, Heaven, Siri, Giselle, Jeremiah, and Brooklyn. Sisters: Maxine Brown, Mamie Thompson and Dorothy Johnson; mother-in-law Lorraine Zirnhelt, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Edward Zirnhelt, Joan Schaefer, Peg (Tom) Burrows. Tim (Sue) Zirnhelt, Teri (John) Lasota; nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and many dear friends. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his daughter, Deborah Edun, brother Curtis Johnson and father-in-law, Edward Zirnhelt.

Visitation Thursday, December 15, 2016, 9:00 A.M. until time of service at 11:00 A.M. at New Omega Baptist Church, 5731 Northwestern Avenue, Racine, Pastor Stephen Hawkins officiating. Private interment with Full Military Honors will be held at the Southern Wisconsin Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery, Town of Dover.