Joseph Raymond Johnson October 22, 1940 – January 04, 2019 Share this obituary Send Flowers Sign Guestbook| Send Private Condolences| Send Sympathy Card Joseph Raymond (Joe) Johnson died on Jan. 4, 2019. He was a kind man of great integrity.
Joe was born on Oct. 22, 1940, in Fordyce, Ark. , to John Raymond and Estella Maye Muncus Johnson.
He had no brothers or sisters. At age 8, he moved with his parents to Hot Springs, Ark. , attending Lakeside Schools.
He enjoyed the academics and social life of high school. He lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. Joe was musically talented, singing bass in a gospel quartet.
He was named “Most Likely to Succeed” by his senior class. Joe began working on the property that would become Blakely Dam and Lake Ouachita during summer breaks. The completed lake would become interwoven in both his professional career and his recreational life as the years past.
He received his undergraduate degree from Southern State College (Southern Arkansas University) and his master’s degree from Arkansas Tech. He began his coaching career in Thornton, Ark. , where he also served as principal of the high school.
While there he was nominated for Arkansas Coach of the Year. He left the education setting to sell insurance for the Horace Mann Company. But his heart drew him back to the classroom and he was hired by the Lake Hamilton School District, where he enjoyed teaching history, psychology, global studies and working with the Gifted and Talented Program.
He was also entrusted as a bus driver to safely deliver students to and from school and other activities. Joe worked as a seasonal park ranger for the Corps of Engineers for 23 years. Upon retiring from the LHSD in 1993, he became a full time park ranger, a job he truly enjoyed.
He never met a stranger and enjoyed assisting campers, boaters, fishermen and other visitors at Lake Ouachita. He could navigate Lake Ouachita like no other. When he wasn’t working, you could usually find him fishing, camping and boating with his family.
Retirement from the Corps was in 2003. In 1992, he married Charlene Wilson Baxter. Together they watched over his three sons and her one son.
With the boys out of the house, they began RVing, which was Joe’s dream. After discovering the beauty and awe of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, they spent 11 consecutive summers at the same campground on the same site in Nathrop, Colo. Everyday was an adventure shared with folks from all over the United States.
He loved off roading in his Rubicon Jeep or ATVing the range of mountains known for their altitudes of 14,000 feet. He was fearless and his wife and dog had to learn how to hang on! The Arkansas River runs through the area and provided all levels of river rafting, which he took advantage of.
Joe has faced some health challenges in the last few years. But he rarely complained and lived as independently as possible. Joe had a positive impact on countless students and made the world a better place for anyone lucky enough to cross his path.
He has completed the journey on this Earth that God set for him. His beautiful spirit and soul have gone home. We will miss him as only a child can miss a father and a wife can miss a husband.
We are thankful for his 78 years. He leaves behind his wife of 26 years, Charlene; and his beloved sons, John (Rhea), Chuck (Lisa) and Kurt (Allison). Also surviving him is stepson Andy Baxter l (Mel).
Joe loved his grandchildren, Anna, Akin, Asa, Asher, Amelia, Laine, bonus grandson Rex; and his dog, Willie. A memorial gathering will be planned at a later date. Joe would encourage you to spend time with someone you love and make a happy memory that will become a treasure.
Arrangements are entrusted to Carrigan Memorial Funeral Home.
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