Joan Johnson

Joan Dixon Johnson died on May 8, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pa. She was the wife of Stephen Johnson, and daughter of Dr. Ralph and Margaret Dixon of Arthur.  

After graduating from Arthur High School she attended Northwestern University, majoring in Music Education. It was there that she met Stephen Johnson. They were married in 1957.

She taught music in grade schools, later switching to remedial reading and directing a program for GED teachers and students in Gastonia, N.C. Her music interests continued as she learned to play the harp, and subsequently gave private instruction to a few dozen adult students. She also served as choir director in her husband’s church in Gastonia.   

In recent years they lived in Tega Cay, S.C., Pineville, and lastly in Philadelphia.   

Her surviving children are Julia Attaway (New York City), Ralph Stephen Johnson (Philadelphia), and Elizabeth Lennox (Nashville, Tenn.). Her husband, Stephen, continues to live in Philadelphia.