Ronald James Johns' Obituary
Ronald James Johns passed away on April 12, 2018 at age 75. He was born on September 11, 1942 in Wichita, Kansas to Ava Johns and Hazel Marie (Courtney) Johns. Ronald resided in rural Winslow, Arkansas, since 1983. Ronald’s viewing and funeral took place on Monday, April 16, 2018, at the First Baptist Church of Winslow, with Pastor Greg Dold officiating. Services were held under the direction of Moore’s Funeral Chapel of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Ronald’s obituary appeared in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette on April 14. The following writing, done May 14, 2018, about Ronald’s life is lovingly submitted by his brother, Buddy Johns and his sister, Marcia Johns.
In 1965 Ronald married Patricia Jean Michael. They had one child, a son DJ. Ronald is survived by his son, DJ and DJ’s wife, Jillian; a granddaughter, Evlin Jennifer DuBose; and a grandson, James Michael DuBose, all of Austin, Texas. Ronald is also survived by a brother, Buddy Ava Johns Jr., and a sister, Marcia Lorraine Johns, both of Wichita, and by many other relatives and friends. Preceding Ronald in death were his parents; and two sisters, Gloria Marie Johns and Janice Ann Johns; and one brother, Gilbert Johns, all of Wichita.
Ronald was greatly loved by his family and friends, and Ronald loved his family and friends greatly. He enjoyed proudly telling of his family’s successes. It was important to him to spend time talking with his friends. He cheered people with his great sense of humor.
He attended Martinson Elementary School, Allison Middle School, and West High School, all in Wichita. From Wichita State University Ronald graduated with B.A. degrees in English and mathematics. He also earned an M.A. degree in English there. He earned a Ph.D. (ABD) degree in English from the University of Oklahoma at Norman. He taught at the University of Oklahoma and at Kansas State University. Other teachers expressed high opinions of his teaching. Ronald was described as brilliant. He wrote fine poetry, taught courses in English and mathematics, and had extensive knowledge of history and current events.
In addition, Ronald was a talented stonemason in Oklahoma and Arkansas. A visible example of his work is the gateway just east of Arkansas’s Scenic U.S. Highway 71 and across from the Brentwood, Arkansas Community
Building. Construction was another of Ron’s skills. During the building of a large industrial structure near Fayetteville, Ron was responsible for working so that the walls would be at exact right angles when done. A surveyor examined Ron’s completed work and found the results to be nearly perfect. Another accomplishment of Ron’s was building high-domed roofs on churches by rappelling. One such roof is on the First Freewill Baptist Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Ron is remembered for his soft-heartedness toward helping people. For example, one time as he was being taken by his brother and sister to the emergency room he insisted on stopping and helping a friend who was having car trouble. In recent months, although ill himself, he stood in the cold to call 911 and wait for medics to help an unconscious stranger in a parking lot.
Ron liked to do kind deeds such as voluntarily tutoring a youngster, implementing an outdoor church wedding for a neighbor couple, and organizing the funeral service of a needy neighbor. Ron’s plans to send words of encouragement to those in institutions brought tears to his eyes.
Ron and his brother Buddy learned building skills from their father. One fun building project Ron and Buddy had was making a model railroad. Ron, Buddy, and their father went hunting together and all were “good shots.” Ron’s father often took the entire family fishing.
Helping people was something Ron and his mom liked to do together. For instance, they gathered vegetables from the family garden and carried them around to neighbors. Ron recalled his mom’s delicious fried chicken dinners and her homemade pies.
Ron’s sister Gloria made a wonderful impression on Ron with her Christmas celebrations that included readings, music, and tableaus. Ron was proud of Gloria for her volunteer work in a church office and for her job in a music store, followed by her teaching career.
Ron and his sister Marcia liked to discuss and record family history and genealogy. They also spent time hiking together to view rock formations and photograph forest animals.
Bird-watching while hiking was a hobby that Ron and his sister Janice shared. They also enjoyed ice skating in winter at a near-by frozen pond and taking turns riding the family’s horse.
Some other things Ron enjoyed were the holidays, reading, gardening and traveling. By the time Ron graduated from high school he had traveled in 35 states and four provinces of Canada. He liked to canoe, camp, swim, watch rodeos, and attend baseball games.
After Ron and Patricia married in Wichita they moved to Oklahoma. Patricia is an artist and Ron spoke of his great admiration for her artwork. Ron recalled their camping trip to California. Ron and Patricia were blessed with the birth of their son DJ. Over the years a great interest in watersports – swimming, kayaking, canoeing, and water-sliding - was shared by Ron, Pat, DJ, Jill, Evlin, James and others. One of Ron’s happiest memories was taking DJ and DJ’s family swimming at Devil’s Den State Park near Winslow. Ron kept family and friends updated with good news about DJ’s family. Ron was thrilled to drive to the University of Texas to attend DJ’s graduation ceremony for his degree in engineering. He was delighted to send gifts when Evlin and James graduated from high school.
Music was a major part of Ron’s life. He loved music and had a keen musical ear. He sang, played guitar, piano, and other instruments. He liked sharing music with family and friends. He built and played mountain dulcimers, and even within this last year people continued to ask Ron to custom-make dulcimers.
Famous banjo player Alan Munde was a friend of Ron and Patricia. Ron recalled that Munde entitled a song Munde wrote after the name of a pet dog owned by Ron and Patricia. Famous musicians Ronald met at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas were Doc Watson and Bill Monroe. Ron attended two concerts of guitarist Tommy Emmanuel and a concert of violinist Itzhak Perlman.
Ron selected more than 20 gospel songs done by his favorite musicians and had a special album made, which he enjoyed playing for others. He distributed copies of the Billy Graham DVD The Cross, copies of the publication Guidepost, and placards of Psalms.
“Everything Jesus said was right,” was Ron’s testimony to his family. While driving alongside mountain scenery listening to a reading of Psalm 8 about God’s majesty, Ron witnessed that God is able to create His handiwork in just an instant.
Ronald loved the beauty of the Ozark Mountains, and he loved his woods with its animals and birds. One of Ron’s doctors said to him not long ago, “Ron, you’re a strong mountain man.” Ronald loved God, America, his family, and his friends. Ronald was greatly loved and will always be greatly loved, remembered, and missed.
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