Richard (Rick) Lee Johnson

Lenoir, NC- Richard “Rick” Lee Johnson, age 63, of Lenoir, passed away Tuesday, April 3, 2012 in the Select Specialty Hospital at Forsyth Medical in Winston-Salem. Born June 1, 1948 in Caldwell County, Rick was a son of the late William Kenneth and Ruth McLean Johnson. Other than his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Bill Johnson. Rick was a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran serving the 101st Airborne in Vietnam from 1970- 1971 and was an engineer with Duke Power for 33 years. He was a member of Rolling Thunder Chapter 2 of North Carolina and member of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club. He was co-founder and president of the North Carolina Falconers Guild and a past member of River Watch. He was a member of the Carolina Raptor Center and was a wildlife rehabilitator working with birds of prey. He tied fishing flies for Project Healing Waters; Casting for Recovery and Baghdad Anglers in Iraq. Rick had served on the Hudson Rescue Squad and the Red Cross Disaster Relief Team. He was also a rescue scuba diver. Over the years, Rick had donated between 10 and 11 gallons of blood to the Red Cross. He is survived by his wife, Lee Ann Johnson, of the home; his daughter, Kimberly Wayman and husband Scott of Lenoir; his son, Christopher Richard Johnson, Sr. and wife Leigh Ann of Granite Falls; his step-daughter, Katie Cave and husband Hank of Louisa, VA; his sister, Betty Bumgarner of Hudson; his brother, Charles Johnson and wife Marlene of Hudson; his sister-in-law, Mary Johnson of Lenoir; 4 grandchildren, Austin, Alli, Christopher, Lukas and step-granddaughter, Anna. A celebration of Rick’s life will be held 2:00 PM Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Union Grove Baptist Church with Kevin Desmond and Paul Desruisseaux officiating. The service will conclude with full military honors. The family will receive friends on Friday evening, April 13, 2012 at Union Grove Baptist Church from 6 until 8 PM. “In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests memorials be made to: Project Healing Waters”, (PHWFF), PO Box 695, LaPlata, MD 20646. Online condolences may be sent to the Johnson Family at www.evansfuneralservice.com Evans Funeral Service & Crematory of Lenoir is serving the Johnson Family. PDF Printable Version