Gwendolyn Stroup Johnson

Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stroup Johnson, 85, a resident of Luverne, Alabama, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, March 5th, 2025, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. Funeral services for Gwen will be held at 2 PM on Saturday, March 8th, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church with Rev. Mark Perry officiating. She will then be laid to rest beside her beloved husband in Brunson Chapel Cemetery with Turners Funeral Home of Luverne directing. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Friday, March 7th, from 6 to 8 PM and she will lie in state at the church on Saturday for one hour prior to the service.

Let me assure you, if you ever met Gwen Johnson, I can guarantee you weren't going to forget her! She was a whole lot of personality and spunk packed into a small package. In fact, if you looked up the term "extra" in the dictionary, you were likely to find a picture of Gwen with her own special way of pronouncing a variety of words, regardless of whether you thought it was correct or not! No surprise that she was always the life of the party anywhere that she went as she most definitely lit up every room she ever entered and brought the fun with her. Obviously, she lived life to the fullest and enjoyed every second of it along the way. Even after retirement, she loved heading to the senior center every day for her regular domino game with the ladies at her table and then only missed a Friday night bingo game if the Atlanta Braves were playing.

Gwen loved her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, with all of her heart and cherished her church family at Mt. Zion Baptist Church over the years. She met the love of her life, George Johnson, on a random day while working her job at a local cafe in Plant City, Florida. It was love at first sight, they were married only 6 weeks later and spent 49 years in happily wedded bliss while they raised four wonderful children together. Now, as much as she adored every one of her children, we all know there's no one more special in a MawMaw's life than those grandchildren. She worked as a seamstress in her professional career, and, in her free time, she loved both fishing and watching her favorite Westerns and game shows (and you better not interrupt her when her shows were on or the Braves were playing). Any meal that consisted of fried fish and coffee was always a delightful one in Gwen's book as well.

Above all, she was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who loved her family with all her heart and she looked forward to visiting with her extended family every year at the Stroup Family Reunion. There just aren't enough words to describe how delightful and special Gwen was nor how much she meant to all those who knew and loved her best. There's just never enough time with the people who we love the most, but there is comfort to be found in knowing she's been reunited with her beloved husband and son in their heavenly reward.

Gwen was preceded in death by her cherished husband of 49 years, George W. Johnson; their son, Eric Randall "E.R." Johnson; and parents, William Daniel & Katie Elizabeth Thompson Stroup. She is survived by her children, Jay (Denise) Johnson, Windy (Stevie) Taylor, and Melissa Wright; daughter-in-law, Dionne Johnson; grandchildren, Ashley (Bogdan) Munteanu, Chelsea (Brandon) McRee, Brianna Taylor, Will Stone, Wes Taylor, Wyn Johnson, Walt Johnson, and Lucas Wright; great-grandchildren, Christian Munteanu, Daniel Munteanu, and Elizabeth Munteanu; sister, Betty Suits; her beloved furbaby, Bam-Bam; and a host of extended family members and friends.

Active pallbearers will be Will Stone, Wes Taylor, Wyn Johnson, Walt Johnson, Lucas Wright, and Brandon McRee. Honorary pallbearers will be her dear friends from the "domino table," Mildred Motes, Betty James, Barbara White, Mari White, Debra Davis, and Carolyn Bayman, and Anita West.