Asa B. Johnson Jr.
Published 6:51 pm Tuesday, October 22, 2019
FRANKLIN — Asa B. Johnson Jr., 85, died on Oct. 22, 2019, at The Village at Woods Edge.
Asa B. Johnson Jr.
He was predeceased by his parents, Asa B. and Dorothy Moore Johnson, and his wife of 54 years, Conway Rice Johnson.
He is survived by a son, Asa B.“Bud” Johnson III of Auburn, Maine; and a sister, Florence J. Rowlett “Polly” of Williamsburg.
Born in Chuckatuck, Virginia, he spent his early years like most boys, hunting, fishing, playing ball and swimming in the “Marlhole.”
After high school and two years in the Army, he graduated from the University of Virginia with a “wife and baby and $3,900 in debt.” He loved the University of Virginia, and in his later years endowed a scholarship in the Curry School of Education to provide need-based assistance to undergraduate students.
After teaching one year of junior high school in Maryland, he joined Union Camp Corporation in Franklin and worked for them until he retired in 1996. During his 36 years at Union Camp he was located in New York City; Wayne, New Jersey; as well as Franklin; and as he said, “I had every industrial relations job in the company except the top one, and I loved them all.”
Asa had lived at The Village at Woods Edge in Franklin for 13 years, a place he loved and often referred to as “the best retirement community east of the Pacific Ocean.” He was proud of the Village staff and their devotion to caring for the residents, particularly those in “the neighborhood.”
Active in athletic activities much of his life, he loved golf, but stopped playing when he “couldn’t hit the ball out of his shadow.”
He stayed busy with church and civic responsibilities until he couldn’t, and above all else he tried to be a gentleman. When asked how he wanted to be remembered, the response was always “a Virginia gentleman.”
The graveside service will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Poplar Spring Cemetery in Franklin with the Rev. Lou Ventura officiating. A reception will follow at The Village at Woods Edge Back Porch & Grille.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to The Village at Woods Edge, 1401 N. High St., Franklin, VA 23851 or Franklin Presbyterian Church, 405 Lee St. Franklin, VA 23851.
www.wrightfuneralhome.org.