Obituary of dianne e. johnson

A Memorial for Dianne Johnson will take place at Shalimar UMC Family Life Center on 11 June 2022 at 11 AM. Dianne died unexpectedly at 3:18 p.m. Tuesday April 26, 2022. Her final words to Ralph, her husband of 56 years, were said with a smile: "I am going to be with Jesus!", then she closed her eyes. Also with Dianne during her final hours were Pastor Matt Langford and Worship Leader Ben Savage of Shalimar United Methodist church (SUMC). Dianne is survived by Ralph; daughter Paula Stetson and her husband Dr. Robert (Bob) of Cleveland, TN, and their sons Benjamin and Zachary; and son Eric and his wife Dr. Kersten of North Palm Beach, FL, and their son Connor. Dianne was a gracious lady, sharing her smile and words of encouragement with everyone. Her favorite word was "JOY"! and she established a JOY wall at her front door. She firmly believed her salvation in Christ Jesus and the promise of eternity with Him. Dianne was born in Freeport, New York on August 31, 1945. She grew up at 887 Surrey Drive in East Meadow, NY, graduating from East Meadow High School in 1963, having played field hockey and volleyball. She went on to graduate from Claremont Secretarial School and was employed as Executive Secretary for the E-2 Program Director at the Grumman Aircraft Company in Bethpage, NY. It was there that she met Ralph, whom she married in 1966. They lived at 64 Liberty Avenue in Lindenhurst, NY until October 1975, when they moved to Shalimar, FL. Dianne became a member of Grace United Methodist Church in Lindenhurst in 1967. Dianne was paralyzed in 1972 but still led an active, dynamic life. She served with the United Methodist Women (UMW) in multiple activities including the installation of a ramp and wheelchair lift in 1973. Upon moving to Florida, Dianne co-founded the Association for Better Conditions for the Disabled (ABCD) in 1976, meeting with FL representatives and senator as well as local leaders to lobby for legislation and regulations related to the disabled. As a result, Dianne was often asked to guest speak about life in a wheelchair. With gentle humor, she shared that disabled people are just people who need access to engage in their communities. She was an invited participant at a major conference in Tampa pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the needs of the disabled. She felt very honored to receive invitations from The White House in 1979 and 1981, to attend meetings of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. Several years ago, Dianne consulted with Fort Walton Beach Hospital regarding wheelchair accessibility, a key aspect during development and execution of their Chapel renovation efforts. In 2002, she received a national nomination for the Spirit of Women Award from Sacred Heart Women's Hospital. Dianne actively supported her children's interest in sports, serving as Sponsorship Chair for the Playground Area Sports Association (PASA). She obtained sponsors for over 100 soccer teams and shirts for more than 1,000 youth players per year from 1976 to 1982. She was Team Mom for both her daughter's and son's PASA teams. As her son's Cub Scout Den Leader from 1979 to 1983, she fostered disability awareness through activities such as each scout talking with someone in, and actually using, a wheelchair. Dianne was a Brownie Leader, Girl Scout Leader, and member of the Gulf Coast Florida Council during the 1990's. She mentored dozens of scouts in multiple rank and merit badge achievement awards. Dianne pursued her Christian belief in earnest in 1996, reading the entire Bible that year. In 1997 she invited Ralph to join her in the year-long Desciple 1 Bible study at SUMC. She co-led that study in 1998 and the Disciple 2-4 studies in the following years, co-led the Jars of Clay adult Sunday school class for five years, and began and co-led the SUMC Monday night Bible study class for 18 years. She served on the SUMC Trustees then the Staff-Parish Relations Committees. During those same years, Dianne was active in Glue Lake Emmaus, starting with Walk 106 She led the Book Table Team on dozens of Walks, served on the Prayer Chapel and Refreshments Committees, and in March 2008, Dianne was Lay Director of Walk 191. Her theme verse for that Walk was 2 Corinthians 3:2-8,"Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it -not with ink, but with God's living spirit..." Dianne lived that. Dianne joined the SUMC Splash of Joy Women's Bible study group and was a Table Leader for years pre-pandemic. Dianne loved to paint and blessed many people with her painting and artistic gifts. She had a successful crafts booth at the annual SUMC Holly Fair in the early 2000's. An avid reader throughout her life, after the birth of her grandsons, Dianne spent hours reading with each one. She also played games with them, did crafts and art projects, and involved them in baking and cooking: mini cakes and meringue cookies were particular favorites! She was a sweet friend and an inspiration to Ralph, who credits her for leading to Christ. Dianne reflected God's joy on a daily basis as she interacted with others. She will be missed.