Obituary of James C. Johnson Jr.

Please join us in Celebrating the Life of James C. Johnson, Jr. at 1:00 PM, Tuesday, January 12, 2021 to watch the live stream service copy and paste this link to your web browser https://my.gather.app/remember/james-c-johnson-jr James C. Johnson Jr. was born in Gary, Indiana, on October 10, 1959, to the late Lois H. Johnson (Harris) and James C. Johnson Sr. He was the oldest of three sons. James’ love for sports was sparked as a child, and so grew his love for basketball and baseball. James attended and graduated from Calumet High School in 1977 as a two-sport Varsity player. James then matriculated on to Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. It was there that James was initiated into the Delta Delta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi in the Spring of 1980 as the 4 Klub of the Wizards of Oz. He was the Wizard; thus, his line name was Wiz, short for Wizard. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Communications in 1982. It was also at Jackson State University that he met Gwendolyn Johnson (Hubbard) and to this union three children were born: Jameka, James III (Tre), and Jayla Johnson. James joined the United States Air Force in 1983 and was honorably discharged in 1986. After serving in the Air Force, James took a job to advance his career and moved his young family to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he held a lengthy career at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a Regional Collections Manager until he retired. James’ love of sports showed itself as he exposed and coached all three of his kids in soccer, basketball, softball, and baseball as they grew up. James would be proud to know that his children also developed a love of sports that translated into Jameka coaching high school girls softball, James III (Tre) coaching high school girls basketball, and Jayla coaching and mentoring cheerleading. In his adult years, James played and coached Coed church softball and played recreational basketball. Sports was not just a hobby, it was his passion, and it became a way of life. James grew up in Gary, Indiana, and found his faith at his home church of Greater St. James AME Church, where, at a young age, he accepted Jesus Christ. James has always been involved in church and re-dedicated his life to the Lord as an adult and was baptized at Progressive Missionary Baptist Church where he served in the male choir, Usher Board, and became a Deacon under the late Rev. Michael K. Jones. James served faithfully as a member at Purpose of Life Ministries under the direction of Senior Pastor, Rev. David W. Greene Sr., M.Div. until he was unable to serve any longer. James was preceded in death and rejoins his mother, Lois H. Johnson and father, James C. Johnson Sr. He leaves to cherish his memories his children; Jameka (Aaron) of Rockville, MD, James III of Indianapolis, IN, Jayla of Nashville Tennessee; brothers Jeffrey (Denetta) of Indianapolis, IN and Josh (Sharon) of Gary, IN; nieces; Joslyn of Silver Springs, MD and Jasmine of Troy, MI and a host of cousins and extended family members. He will be dearly missed not only by his family but by his many friends, fraternity and line brothers, church members, coworkers, and anyone who knew and met him.