Harold Bryan Johnson's Obituary
Harold Bryan Johnson, age 81, of Fayetteville died Tuesday April 10, 2012 in Fayetteville at his home surrounded by family. He was born October 3, 1930 in Wichita Falls, Texas, the son of William Bryan and Mildred Ponder Johnson. The family lived for a short while in Dutch Mills, Arkansas the early 1930’s before moving back to Texas. In December 1943 the family moved back to Fayetteville to stay. In 1954 he married Ruth Weber at Immanuel Baptist Church. He was a graduate of Fayetteville High School and attended the University of Arkansas. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean Conflict and was a Southern Baptist Deacon. He was a business man for forty eight years, Harold and his brother Lewis bought Johnson Plumbing and Heating in 1964 from their father who founded the company in 1944. Over a period of time the brothers enlarged the company, buying Fayetteville Sheet Metal in 1972. In 1976 they put the businesses in one place and making Johnson Hardware the largest hardware store in Fayetteville. They called the new location, “Johnson Center”. In 1982 Lewis sold his share to Harold and in the following years his sons, Stan, bought Johnson Plumbing and Kirby bought Johnson Air Conditioning leaving Harold with the Johnson Hardware Store. It became well known for free popcorn and peanuts (in season) and its wood burning stove. He became widely known for his skills helping customers with their various problems and becoming friends with most. He taught apprentice plumbing classes at Northwest Technical School. Harold loved farming best, growing large gardens, hay and cattle. He also became an expert on bluebirds, he built over 150 bluebird houses and gave away countless houses and placed them all over the farm. This is what he was doing in his last days until he became too weak to continue. He felt lucky to live this good life. He was widely and deeply loved. He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, James Johnson.
He is survived by his wife Ruth Weber Johnson, three sons, Michael Johnson, Stan Johnson and his wife Brenda and Kirby Johnson all of Fayetteville; two sisters, Shirley Neal and her husband Alvin of Farmington; Sallye Anne Martin and her husband Joe of Fayetteville; three brothers, Lewis Johnson and his wife Christine of Fayetteville; Fred Johnson and his wife Marianne of Hot Springs, AR; Russell Johnson of Ozark, AR; sister-in-law, Irene Kerr of Springdale, AR; eight grandchildren, Morgan Johnson, Will Johnson, Beth Gillham, Caleb Johnson, Amanda Mayes, Adam Gabbard, Randy Sams, Tyler Johnson; nine great grandchildren, and a host of nieces and nephews.
Memorial service will be 10:30 am Saturday April 14, 2012 at Moore’s Chapel with Dr. Andrew Hall conducting the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:
Pancreatic Cancer Research
The Lustgarten Foundation
1111 Stewart Avenue
Bethpage, NY 11714
or
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
P.O. Drawer 2222
Little Rock, AR 72203
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