Howard Johnson Jr

Howard Mason Johnson Jr., 76, of Holly Springs, was suddenly called home to the Lord on August 11, 2024.

Howard was born on October 7, 1947 to Helen and Howard Johnson Sr. in Century, Florida. After Howard graduated from Murphy High School in 1966, studied at Mobile College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He went on to receive advanced degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, including a Masters and Doctorate of Theology in New Testament. He later attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham and earned his Doctor of Medicine in 1986. He completed his residency at Medical Center East and went on to practice family medicine.

Before his career in medicine, Howard was literally a jack of all trades, working as a bridge tender, an air traffic controller, a teacher, a coach, a pastor, a restaurant owner and a benefit authorizer for social security. He ultimately focused on medicine. Throughout his thirty-eight year career as a family medical doctor, Howard practiced in Alabama, Hawaii, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina and Alaska. Howard loved the community that came with living and practicing in a small town. He prioritized taking the time to truly know and care for his patients, to pray with them during their treatment and to do his utmost to help them.

Howard was a man of many passionate pursuits. His love of sports began with baseball, playing on one of the first Little League teams in Mobile and spending most of his childhood days playing APBA baseball with his three best buddies. He was a lifelong fan of Alabama football (Roll Tide). His interests expanded to fast pitch softball, marathons, tennis and skiing. The driving force throughout Howard's life was his love of learning; he lived by the maxim that the moment you stop learning, you start dying. He could always be found with a book in his hand (plus a stack on the table nearby) and loved to share his knowledge with those he cared about. Later in life, Howard discovered just how much he loved dachshunds and spoiled Trixie, Jack and Cooper for many years. Howard enjoyed a good movie, with his favorite being Batman.

The great pride and joy of Howard's life was his children and grandchildren. His greatest desire was that they know true happiness and he dedicated himself to providing every opportunity for them to experience that. He enjoyed forty-five years with his wife Christine and always made sure to bring all of his family together.

Howard was preceded in death by his father Howard Mason Johnson Sr, his mother Helen Johnson and his sister Maureen Johnson McDole. He is survived by his wife, Christine; daughter Tracey Whatley of Mobile; daughter Amber Ellis (Greg) of Semmes; daughter Heather Hunt (Andrew) of Fuquay Varina; grandchildren Courtney, Taylor, Breanna, Toby, Genevieve and Anneliese; and brother Douglas A. Johnson (Charlotte) of Tuscaloosa, AL.

Services will be held at Mobile Memorial Gardens on August 15 at 2 pm with visitation at 12 pm.Pallbearers will be Doug Johnson, Andrew Hunt, Greg Ellis, Taylor Whatley, Rod Badakhsh, John Welch. Officiating funeral services will be Dr. Fisher Humphreys.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Saving Susan Ministry, an organization Howard felt strongly about (www.savingsusanministry.org).