Gary Earl Johns

Once upon a time, because all good stories begin with “once upon a time, when I was a boy and living in Montana, my family consisted of my father Benjamin Sink Johns, my mother Frankie Belle Miller Johns, my brother Ben, my sisters Pat and Charmaine, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins (and later their spouses and many nieces and nephews).

I graduated from Harlowton High School where I had many lifelong friends, and went on to the University of Montana and Montana State University. I served in the Army and moved to Texas, got married and had 4 kids. I did a bunch of amazing things including working with troubled youth for many years at the Salesmanship Club, Hope Center for Youth, and the Texas Youth Commission, and owned a tire store. I volunteered with the Apple Springs fire department, served on the Water Board and ASISD School Board, and really loved my church in Crockett. I found someone to spend the remaining years of my life with.

I taught my kids to hunt and fish, I could garden like nobody’s business, raised small livestock, and was really good at building things, too, whether it was toys for my kids or remodeling the house. I played guitar and organ/keyboard, and sang my kids to bed at night including the prayer “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” with every single aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandma named. I watched sunrises and sunsets, and all the things in between like the wildflowers blooming or the deer in the backyard. I told a lot more stories, too, and now my kids wonder just how much of them were really true but since we’ll never know for sure now, we’ll just pretend that they all were.

Gary Earl Johns, born April 27, 1940 in Lewistown, Montana, passed away unexpectedly December 14, in Palestine, Texas, surrounded by family.

He was really proud of his kids Becky, Tim, Danny, David, and his foster son Steve, found happiness again with Celeste and her daughters Regina and Becca, and adored all of his grandkids. If they had another lifetime they couldn’t thank him enough for what he taught them. His family was a family of teachers and storytellers, and he leaves them to write the next chapter. A Celebration of Live will be held on Saturday, December 30 at 11:00 at Harvest Church in Crockett, Texas.

All are invited to the fellowship hall afterward for a light lunch.

Althaough he loved nature, he thought that flowers should be saved for the living. If you plan to do something in his memory, he supported these organizations who strived to serve the poor and underprivileged: Harvest Church Food Pantry, Living Waters Ministries (send to Harvest), Food for the Poor (www.foodforthepoor.org), Gospel for Asia (www.gfa.org), Casa Juan Diego (https://cjd.org), or PACE Youth (www.paceyouth.org).