Ridgeway, MO: Mary Ann (Blackburn) Johnson, Ridgeway, MO (formerly of Liberty, MO) was born August 12, 1936 in Saddle, Arkansas and passed away at the Liberty Hospital on January 27, 2020. She completed this life on earth 83 years, five months and fifteen days before returning home to her Heavenly Father.
Mary Ann was the fourth of seven children born to Charlie and Effie (Frazier) Blackburn. Her five sisters; Naomi, Raymonda, Roberta, Charlene, Sue and one brother Luther, were raised in a Christian, hardworking home. Mary Ann, affectionately known as âBugâ or âBuggyâ given to her by her Grandma Frazier, grew up in Arkansas working alongside her parents and siblings in the fields to try and make ends meet. She often talked about picking cotton, milking cows and doing general farm work to help keep the family fed. Despite the hard life, she cherished all the memories made there.
In the 1950âs, the family relocated to Kansas City, MO where she excelled academically and graduated from the former Manual High & Vocational School in 1955. It was in Kansas City that she met her husband, Gerald Lee Johnson, and was united in marriage upon her graduation. To this union, three children were born: Cheryl Ann, Carolyn Jean and Gerald Wayne. They established their home in Liberty, MO where both Mary Ann and Gerald worked at the former St. Maryâs Hospital in Kansas City, MO. She as a Medical Transcriptionist, and Gerald as a Cabinetmaker.
In 1980, they left the city life behind and moved to Geraldâs family farm north of Ridgeway, MO. They, along with Cheryl and Jerry, began a farming and dairy operation until 1993. It was during this time that Mary Ann began working at the Harrison County Community Hospital as a Medical Transcriptionist until retiring at the age of seventy-three, completing over forty years in this career. She was known for her typing speed of 120 words a minute with exceptional accuracy, and did not shy away from transcribing for Physicians with a foreign dialect.
âGrandma Buggyâ enjoyed her grandchildren, Elvis Presley and the Irish crooner, Daniel OâDonnell. She somehow finagled all three children into separately taking her to Branson to see the crooner, despite their opposition! Gerald, her loving husband of forty-three years passed away in 1999 and she remained on the Johnson family farm until moving into an apartment in Bethany. Unfortunately, she only lived there four days before being hospitalized and eventually her passing.
Mary Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Gerald Lee Johnson; a great-grandson, Eli Hall; parents, Charlie and Effie Blackburn; sisters, Naomi Hollis and Raymonda Hollis; brothers-in-law, Junior Hollis, Waymon Hollis and Willie Sambursky; nieces, Lisa Hollis and daughter, Amber and nephew, Clayton Ricker.
Survivors are her children, Cheryl (Terry) Hubbard, Lawson, MO; Jeanie (Chris) Clark, Liberty, MO; and Jerry (Tammie) Johnson, Bethany, MO. Grandchildren, Tim Hubbard (Olivia Martin) and Cody Hubbard, Lawson, MO; Katie (Kyle) Gantz, Bloomington, IN; Ashton (David) Hall, Lawrence, KS; Allison (Aaron) McQuinn, Chillicothe, MO; and Amy Johnson (Jacob Donner), Bethany, MO. Five Great-grandchildren Madison, Mazey, Coraline, Callahan, baby boy Gantz that will arrive in May, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, January 31 at Liberty Church of Christ, Liberty, MO under the direction of Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO. Burial will follow in New Hope Cemetery, Liberty, MO. The family will receive friends from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Thursday at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO and from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Friday at Liberty Church of Christ, Liberty, MO. Memorials may be made to the Harrison County Cancer Transportation Fund in care of Roberson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 46, Bethany, MO 64424. Online condolences may be left at www.robersonfuneralhome.com