JOHNSON

William A. “Billy” Johnson Jr., 95, of West End, died Thursday, March 22, 2012, at his home.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 24, at the West End United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Dr. Won Namkoong officiating. Interment will be at the West End Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m., Friday, March 23, at the Boles Funeral Home in Seven Lakes.
Billy was the only child of the late William Archibald “Archie” Johnson Sr. and Mary Lassiter VonCanon Johnson, of West End. After graduating from West End High School, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1939, he opened Johnson Hardware Company and thereafter continued operating varied retail businesses in West End until his retirement in 1982. He had numerous real estate interests in the Sandhills, including early participation in the development of Seven Lakes.
He devoted time and effort to pine tree preservation, and as the head of Johnson Improvement Company, he managed many acres of land.
In 1940, Billy was married to Lois Morgan, of Salisbury. He served with the U.S. Army during World War II in England, France and Germany and was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was active in community affairs, serving on the Carolina Bank (later B.B. & T) board of directors in West End for 35 years. He was on the Moore County Industrial Development Committee, on the board of directors of the West End Fire Department, and a former president of the West End Lions Club.
Mr. Johnson was a member of West End United Methodist Church, holding various offices, including chairman of the board of trustees for many years. He was also instrumental in the construction of the Boy Scout hut of Troop 98 on Carthage Road.
Mr. Johnson is survived by his wife of 71 years, Lois Morgan Johnson; a daughter, Mary Elizabeth “Libba” Johnson and her husband, Thomas Wamsley, of Boulder, Colo., and children Martha Blunt Petersen and husband, Mitchell, and daughters Amanda June and Abigail Lois, and son Matthew Ralph, of Highlands Ranch, Colo.; Carl Blunt and wife, Tracy, and sons Thomas Maxwell and Charles Samuel, of Johns Creek, Ga.; and Melissa Blunt Dittmar and husband, Justin, and daughters Annabella Brooke and Ellianna Kristina, and son, Alexander James, of Centennial, Colo.; son William A. Johnson III and wife, Sally, of Roswell, Ga., and children William A. Johnson IV, of Rome, Italy and Sara Katherine, of Atlanta; son Dr. Stephen Morgan Johnson and wife, Suzanne, of Lynchburg, Va., and children Stephen Jr. of Charleston, S.C., Mary Elizabeth, of New York, and Walter Griffin, of Washington, D.C.; and son Robert Mark Johnson and wife, the Rev. Dr. Vicki Jones-Johnson and children, Nancy Elizabeth and David Mark, all of Winston-Salem.
Memorials may be directed to the West End United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 276, West End, NC 27376. Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneral home.com.
Boles Funeral Home of Seven Lakes is assisting the family.