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2017 SESSION

17101186D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 803
Offered January 20, 2017
Celebrating the life of Anna Mae Jett Johnson.
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Patron-- Jones
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WHEREAS, Anna Mae Jett Johnson, a loving mother and grandmother who came to Suffolk in the early 1950s to train to be a nurse but ended up becoming a florist and the backbone of a family garden business, died on September 9, 2016; and

WHEREAS, Anna Johnson was born in Fredericksburg and raised in Stafford County, where her family made do with very little; she graduated from Falmouth High School then the Louise Obici School of Nursing in Suffolk, where she was a member of the first graduating class; and

WHEREAS, in the 1950s, Anna Johnson and her husband, Raymond, established a roadside market on Holland Road in Suffolk that sold produce, peanuts, hams, and pumpkins; by 1961, they expanded to include fresh flowers and Johnson’s Gardens, Inc., was born; and

WHEREAS, Anna Johnson left her nursing career to help her husband run the family business, becoming a florist and, for decades, the matriarch of Johnson’s Gardens, Inc., where she worked until she was in her 70s, leaving a business that still thrives today; and

WHEREAS, Anna Johnson was revered for her work ethic, her ability to deal with problems quickly and efficiently, her kindness, and her matter-of-fact, no-nonsense manner; and

WHEREAS, Anna Johnson lived by example and taught her entire family the value of hard work and of being a person of quality; like any good florist she was always pruning, whether it was shaping a floral arrangement or offering guidance to her family members; and

WHEREAS, a longtime member of Bethlehem Christian Church in Suffolk, Anna Johnson was incredibly devoted to her family, especially her 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, and was a lifetime caregiver to anyone who needed help; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by her husband of 54 years, Raymond O. Johnson, Sr., Anna Johnson will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her children, Ray, Tim, Mike, Allen, and Susan, and their families, as well as a host of other relatives, friends, and loyal customers; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Anna Mae Jett Johnson, a loving mother and grandmother, and the matriarch of a family garden business in Suffolk; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Anna Mae Jett Johnson as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.