Mr. Jack Lowell Johnson III's Obituary
THE POWER OF HIS SMILE WHEN HE ENTERED A ROOM RADIATED LIKE SUNSHINE AND WARMED YOUR HEART. IT WAS A GLIMPSE INTO HIS SOUL-IT IS A SMILE TO REMEMBER-FULL OF LOVE AND JOY TO SHARE. JACK LOWELL JOHNSON III CAME INTO THIS WORLD HUMBLY AND HE LEFT HUMBLY AT PEACE WITH HIS FAMILY URROUNDING HIM. HE WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR HIS COMPASSION FOR OTHERS AND HIS LOVE FOR HIS CHILDREN, WIFE, MOTHER AND FAMILY. JACK WAS BORN OCTOBER 3, 1967, IN LAUREL, MISSISSIPPI, THE OLDEST SON OF JANICE SHANKS JOHNSON AND JACK LOWELL JOHNSON, JR. BETWEEN HIS MOTHER JANICE AND HER SIBLINGS WERE SEVEN (MALES) FOR A LONG TIME (JACK, JONATHAN, JASON, AND COUSINS CURTIS, SIMON, JAMES, AND MICHAEL). THEY SPENT MANY WEEKENDS TOGETHER PLAYING BALL, SWIMMING AND BEING NAUGHTY. THEY LOVED EACH OTHER LIKE BROTHERS AND WERE DEEMED THE MAGNIFICENT 7. JACK'S CHILDREN, TREVOR 21 AND JAYLON 18, ARE BOTH COLLEGE STUDENTS. JACK AND SHERRY HAVE INSTILLED IN THEM THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION, FAMILY, AND LOVE OF GOD; TOOLS NEEDED FOR SURVIVAL. THE LOVE AND RESPECT THAT THEY DISPLAY TO OTHERS IS A TRIBUTE TO THEIR FATHER AND MOTHER. HIS FOCUS WAS CENTERED ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND FAMILY LIFE. JACK GREW UP IN CHURCH AT THE ELWOOD CHURCH OF GOD, QUITMAN, MISSISSIPPI. HE IS NOW A MEMBER OF THE PINEY GROVE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH WHERE REV. DR. LONNIE SLATER IS THE PASTOR. HIS ILLNESS DID NOT CAUSE HIM TO FALTER IN HIS FAITH. JACK ATTENDED ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL IN QUITMAN, MS WHERE HE GRADUATED WITH HONORS IN 1985. HE WAS AN OUTSTANDING ATHLETE AND PLAYED WIDE RECEIVER FOR THE QUITMAN PANTHERS. PEOPLE ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT HIS PERFORMANCES IN THE 1984 HOMECOMING GAME AND THE JAYCEE BOWL GAME. COLLEGE SCOUTS WERE AT HIS DOOR AFTER THESE GAMES. HE WAS ALSO A FIRST-CLASS TRACK ATHLETE RUNNING THE 100-YARD DASH, 4 X 400 AND 4 X 800 RELAYS. HE GREW UP FISHING IN HIS PARENT'S POND AND WAS GOOD AT IT. JACK IS A GRADUATE OF UNIVERSITY OF WEST ALABAMA, LIVINGSTON ALABAMA. HE MAJORED IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY. AFTER GRADUATING, HE WAS THE ASSISTANT MANAGER OF THE BC MOORE'S DEPARTMENT STORE IN SALUDA, SOUTH CAROLINA AND LATER OPEN THE FIRST STORE IN PERRY, GEORGIA IN 1993. HOWEVER, IN 1996 HE BECAME A POLICEMAN WHICH WAS HIS DREAM JOB. YOU SEE, HIS GRANDFATHER-HIS MOTHER'S FATHER, SIMON SHANKS, SR, WAS A POLICEMAN IN LAUREL, MISSISSIPPI. JACK HAS NEVER REGRETTED HIS CHOICE. HE ALSO EARNED HIS MASTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION FROM COLUMBUS STATE UNIVERSITY IN MAY 2014. PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING WAS IMPORTANT TO JACK. HIS INVOLVEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY GAVE HIM ACCESS TO STRONG BRIDGE BUILDING AMONG THOSE HE SERVED. DURING THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PERRY CITY COUNCIL, SEPTEMBER 20, 2016, CHIEF LYNN GAVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF LT. JACK JOHNSON'S TIME WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. SHERRY, HIS WIFE, PINNED THE 20-YEAR SERVICE PIN ON HIS UNIFORM. JACK WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA APRIL 2021. HE MAY HAVE LOST THE BATTLE, BUT HE DID NOT LOSE THE WAR. HE HAD VICTORY IN JESUS. HIS FAITH NEVER WAVERED. IN FACT, HE FOUND THE STRENGTH TO BE AN INSPIRATION TO OTHERS. HE GOT A CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE PEOPLE HE LOVED SO MUCH. JACK HAS LEFT US A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THE POSSIBILITIES FOR OUR OWN LIVES IF WE BUT o'ARE TO THINK HIGH, LIVE UP TO OUR THOUGHTS, AND CARE FOR THE NEEDS OF OTHERS. IN JACK’S LIFETIME, HIS PILLARS OF STRENGTH WERE ROOTED IN GOD AND HIS RELATIONSHIPS AND NONDS WITH FAMILY, NEIGHBORS, COMMUNITY, AND EDUCATION. JACK JOHNSON III WAS MARRIED 31 YEARS TO SHERRY WHIGHAM. HE LEAVES WONDERFUL MEMORIES TO BE CHERISHED BY THEIR SONS: TREVOR AND JAYLON JOHNSON; HIS MOTHER, JANICE SHANKS JOHNSON; HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW, JULIA MAE WHIGHAM; TWO BROTHERS: JONATHAN LAURENCE JOHNSON (ROCHELLE); JASON LAMONT JOHNSON (MELISSA); AUNTS: KATHY THOMAS, TANYA GRAY, AND MARVIS JOHNSON; UNCLES: SIMON SHANKS JR; MICHAEL EARL SHANKS, HERBERT THOMPSON, MITCHELL THOMPSON, MARVIN THOMPSON, CARMICHAEL THOMPSON AND TONY THOMPSON; MANY COUSINS AND FREINDS.
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