Elizabeth Dabney Johnson died in Brownwood at sunrise on Sunday, October 02, 2011. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am, Thursday, October 6, 2011 at the First United Methodist Church of Brownwood. Burial will follow in Greenleaf Cemetery.
Elizabeth was a native of Brown County and had lived most of her life within a few miles of her birthplace. She was blessed with the gifts of love, faith, and charity in abundance, and was called to share her gifts with everyone in her world. She was the namesake of her mother’s oldest sister, Elizabeth Dabney Bettis.
Elizabeth was the daughter of Blanche Dabney Johnson and J. Edward Johnson. She was born in Brownwood on April 10, 1947. She graduated from Brownwood High School and attended Southern Methodist University. She was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church in Brownwood.
Elizabeth was a beautiful rose of the thornless variety. She went forth into the world armed only with the weapons of gentleness and a vivid imagination. She made friends wherever life carried her, and her vision of the world was filtered through a lens of goodness and love, which allowed her to see only those parts of people and places that were beautiful and kind. She did not keep room in her heart for anything incompatible with love.
She is survived by her brothers Mitchell and wife Svetlana, and Ed and wife Mary, nephews Edward, Jack, and Philip, her trusted caretaker Christine Rose, many cousins, and a host of good friends. She mourned the death of her beloved sister Kathleen four days prior to her own death, and she lovingly cared for her mother during her final years. The family also wishes to acknowledge with gratitude the faithful service of Nolberto Tobias during the final years.
The family suggests that those who desire to honor her memory to do so with gifts to the First United Methodist Church of Brownwood, or to a charity of their choice.
Elizabeth was a strong and obedient Christian woman whose weaknesses were her greatest strengths. She was not afraid of death, and had long ago developed a relationship with the Lord that was the rock upon which she built the foundation of her life. She retired at an early age in order to take care of those things in life that she felt called as being more important. Her voice was never raised in anger, but only in song and prayer, and her prayers were messages from the throne room, and they continue to bless the lives of everyone she knew.