Shirley June (Moody) Johnson

Shirley June (Moody) Johnson was born on Nov. 1, 1943, in OKC, OK, to Coleene (Chapman) and Myron Moody. She departed this life on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Lawrence, KS at the age of 81. Paraphrasing Pa Ingalls’ description of Laura Ingalls, “Shirley was as strong as a little French pony.” She could change the oil in your car, sew 12 pairs of elves’ shoes for the South Rock Creek Holiday show, catch fish, fix the fence, type a college entrance essay and check for grammar in nothing flat, and put up grape jelly from grapes she grew and strawberries too.

She was a long-time resident of Shawnee, OK and she and her husband Jerome “Bud” Johnson were in the monument business and owned and operated the monument shop, Shawnee Memorials, Inc., for over 40 years. Shirley graduated from high school at Davenport, OK with the Class of 1961. In high school she was football queen one year and captain of the basketball team. She worked keeping books at the local lumber yard and was teller at the bank, hence her affection for bank tellers and accountants. An accomplished seamstress, she sewed for family and friends and what she did was professionally finished. She sewed the seat covers of the first classic car Bud and she restored, she sewed maternity clothes for her sisters and put in little gussets so the dresses could be let out, she sewed costumes (a tiger one year, lots of angels’ wings, and a colonial woman’s dress and hat for the Bicentennial in 1976).

She and Bud were regulars at the Davenport homecoming parade driving one of Bud’s classic cars with their classes ’60 and ’61. She married Bud on June 23, 1962. They started in a trailer then built their own house in Chandler, OK before moving to Shawnee. They were married 54 years until Bud’s passing in 2016. Shirley dearly loved her sisters. “The Sisters” formed a formidable phalanx. The oldest sister is Myrna Forbis (TX), Shirley was next in order, then Linda Melson (OK), Mary Margaret Waters (TX), and Sue Ann McGee (OK).

Through lines of her life were a love of art and anything that was well crafted, and, better yet, if it was found bargain hunting at swap meets or antique stores. In Shawnee she knew every shopkeeper and banker. If you ran errands with Shirley, you had to be prepared to talk with everyone from the store owners to the cashiers. She was also a master at working the phones! Ask her to help find a prop for an upcoming school play and she was on it. She would visit artists in their homes picking out pieces and placing special orders for family presents (paintings by twins Ruth and Rachel McLaughlin, quilts, china dolls, and wooden toys). She collected Norman Rockwell plates, Thomas Kinkade prints, and kept up, year-round, a Christmas tree with all clear glass ornaments.

Speaking of “Little House on the Prairie,” let her hear 1 minute of an episode and she’d tell you the complete story empathizing with whatever hardships or joys the characters experienced. She could do the same with episodes of “The Waltons.” Shirley’s parents, husband Bud, and oldest daughter Leah preceded her in death. She is survived by her daughter Bonnie Johnson and son-in-law Bruce Frey (Lawrence, KS), her sisters and brothers-in-law, sister-in-law Sue Blakely, cousins, nieces, and nephews. In lieu of flowers, purchase a piece of art or craft for yourself direct from the artist (which could be a florist) and talk to them too. Be kind to lost puppies and opossums under the porch, they just might turn out to be your best friends. In the summer of 2025, we will have a celebration of life at New Zion cemetery near Chandler, OK.