Patti Lauren Johnson's Obituary
PATTI LAUREN JOHNSON, 64, beloved daughter and sister, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, July 16, 2015. She was born in Racine, Wisconsin on January 4, 1951 to the late Robert and Winifred (Hilker) Johnson. She graduated from Washington Park High School in Racine, Wisconsin in June 1969. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside where she enjoyed studying English composition with National Book Award winner and playwright Dr. Herbert Kubly, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in May 1975. In 1976, Patti moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she had come often as a child to visit with her aunts, Mrs. Shirley (Johnson) Metcalfe and Mrs. Phyllis (Johnson) Craven and their families. Patti retired from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2011, where, beginning in 1976, she worked in medical research in the labs of Lester Van Middlesworth and Syamal Bhattacharya. She played a key role as grant-writer and co- author on numerous medical research papers with Professor Bhattacharya. Patti was a member of First Evangelical Church, participating in several short term mission trips to Hungary and Belize. She was a private pilot, a published writer of fiction, and a gifted artist. She enjoyed horseback riding and walking her beloved Dobermans, Spartacus, Arras and Bella at Shelby Farms. She had a special place in her heart for all animals, and a trip to the Memphis Zoo was always welcome. Patti is survived by her brother, Robert (Melanie) Johnson of Terre Haute, Indiana, and sisters, Colleen Roberts of Nashville, Tennessee and Jeri (Stuart) Smith of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and nephews, Eric (Charlene) Roberts, Michael (Leah) Smith, Adam Roberts and William Roberts, and nieces, Laura Roberts and Stephanie Smith, and one grand-nephew, Isaac Roberts. Funeral services will be held in the Chapel at First Evangelical Church, 735 Ridge Lake Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday, July 19, 2015 at 2:30 p.m. Friends may meet in the Fellowship Hall from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. prior to the service. Interment will take place at West Lawn Memorial Park in Racine, Wisconsin. At Patti’s personal request, in lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to First Evangelical Missions, the Southern Blues Equestrian Center in Memphis, the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee or the Memphis Zoo.Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119, “Behind the Stone Wall”
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