The 1,800-square-foot center in the Altus City Cemetery -- Altus' project for the 2007 Oklahoma Centennial Celebration -- is planned with surrounding gardens, fountains and walkways. To contribute to the construction of the $275,000 building, call City Hall at 580-481-2202.
Don Johnson served for a time on the original Centennial Memorial Advisory Committee. "I've spent a lot of time in cemeteries and I've been around funerals that were out in the rain, the cold and the wet and under a tent; the tent doesn't protect you very much," he said.
"I know that a lot of people come back here and have graveside services. A friend of mine from California just had a graveside service for his mother out there in the open. This will provide shelter and a place where people can sit and talk and have a cup of coffee."
Linda (Boatright) Johnson, Don Johnson's first wife, was born Sept. 11, 1939, in Lone Oak, Texas. Her parents, A.H. "Boat" Boatright and wife, moved to Altus from Missouri so her father could work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Altus Air Force Base when the base reopened in the early 1950s.
"I met her in high school and we got married when I was a senior and she was a junior," Don Johnson said. "I went into the Army right after high school and she followed me everywhere I went."
Linda Johnson died of cancer Nov. 23, 1983, at age 46 after 29 years of marriage. The couple had two daughters: Gail of San Diego, Calif., and Donna of Weatherford.
Lena "Skip" Goodrich, Don's mother, was born in St. Louis, Mo., on May 28, 1915 to George W. Logan and Edith (York) Logan and married Leroy Johnson. The Johnsons had two children, Don and Charles (recently retired WOSC instructor), but divorced when Don was 7 years old. Leroy Johnson was born Sept. 5, 1905 and died in Texas on July 29, 1973.
Don's mother later married Earl Goodrich (retired from the Air Force) and in 1956 had a third son, William Earl "Butch" Goodrich of Oklahoma City. Earl Goodrich died Sept. 11, 1968 and was also buried in the Altus City Cemetery. Don's mother died Jan. 25, 1995.
"Everybody in town knew mother as Skip. She was a waitress in Altus for 50 years and raised three boys on a waitress' salary. She walked to work; I was 16 years old before we could afford a car. I've seen my mother and grandmother carrying big sacks of groceries home from work many days to feed us all," Don Johnson said.
Skip Johnson was a hard worker; she taught her sons to give 110 percent and make their bosses happy. She instilled in them the idea that they needed an education to succeed. All three graduated from college, and both Don and Charles earned master's degrees.
George W. Logan, Don's maternal grandfather, entered the world Dec. 20, 1877 in Missouri; Don's grandmother, Edith (York) Logan, was born March 7, 1890 in Illinois. The Logans reared five children -- Lena "Skip," Tess, Bob, Leonard and Drucilla. Edith's first cousin was the world-famous Sgt. Alvin York of Tennessee, the most decorated soldier in WWI and a Medal of Honor winner. "He started out as a conscientious objector and ended up killing 80 or 90 people," Don Johnson said. "He has an interesting story."
The Logan's son Leonard "Rathouse" Logan, a well-known and outstanding athlete, played quarterback on the winning Cameron University football team that qualified for the Little Rose Bowl in California in the 1940s. Leonard died in a car wreck west of Altus in 1948 and was also buried in the Altus Cemetery.
Don's paternal grandparents were Benjamin Walter Johnson, born in McKinney, Texas, on July 30, 1872, and Elsie (Moncrief) Johnson, born Feb. 3, 1892. They had five children: Della, Grace, Leroy, Tom and George. Benjamin died March 7, 1954 and Elsie died August 25, 1961. Benjamin owned a monument company, which he moved to Altus from Vernon, Texas, in the 1930s. He taught Don's father, Leroy, and his uncle, Tom, the business. The Johnson family produced many of the monuments in the Altus City Cemetery.
"My brother Charlie and I spent many hours in cemeteries in Texas and Oklahoma during our childhood while our father, grandfather and uncle worked on monuments," Don Johnson said. "I developed a hobby; when I traveled the world, I visited cemeteries."
Both grandfathers were active Masons. Grandfather Johnson held the position of Worshipful Master of the Altus Masonic Lodge the year Don was born. When Don became a 32nd Degree Master Mason, he wore Grandfather Johnson's apron and later dedicated and donated the apron to the lodge.
Don Johnson remembers sitting around the table and listening to his uncles (one in the Army, one in the Coast Guard, one in the Navy) tell World War II stories. "I guess that's why I wanted to go into the Army," he said.
Don Johnson spent 20 years in the U.S. Army, serving as the Command Sergeant Major of the Personnel Center in Europe when he retired. He returned home to Altus and worked in the finance and civilian personnel offices at Altus AFB before spending 13 years in the Public Affairs Office. When he retired in 1995, his years of working for the federal government totaled 37.
In 1986, Don married Diane Wilhite, now a budget analyst in the Altus AFB Finance Office. Diane spent her entire childhood on her parents' farm north of Hollis, near the Red River, and lived most of her life in the Hollis and Altus areas.
"I remember the hardships when my mother and dad were going through a divorce," Don Johnson said. "When we did come home, we had a place with my grandmother and grandfather, where we lived for years. I owe so much to so many here in this little town."
-- Daniel Mathewson
Post a Comment
