12 LC 93 1537
House Resolution 1997
By: Representative Scott of the 2nd

A RESOLUTION


Recognizing and commending Mr. Joseph "Joe" Burton Johnson and Mrs. Ruby Elizabeth Johnson on the occasion of their 71st wedding anniversary; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, Mr. Joseph "Joe" Burton Johnson was born on April 11, 1922, in Sewanee, Tennessee, a beloved son of barber and moonshiner, Burt Johnson; and

WHEREAS, as a boy, Joe would often help his father make the moonshine and has many great memories of watching his father cut hair on the campus of the University of the South; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson's family moved to Chattanooga where he became an avid Boy Scout and member of Christ Episcopal Church; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Ruby Elizabeth Johnson was born on July 7, 1921, near Sewanee, Tennessee, where her father served as a detective in the midst of Prohibition which eventually resulted in their move to Chattanooga where she later met Mr. Johnson; and

WHEREAS, soon after Joe proposed to Ruby on Valentine's Day in 1941, they were united in love and marriage on April 25, 1941, and are now blessed with six remarkable children, 17 grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Mr. Johnson was called to serve his country as a guardian of this nation's freedom and liberty with the United States Army as a combat infantryman in the Red Arrow Division and earned two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart; and

WHEREAS, after the war, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson moved to Ringgold where they raised their six children and Mr. Johnson worked as a carpenter, rebuilt old MG motorcars, took Mrs. Johnson for cross-country motorcycle rides, and bested many masters as a chess champion; and

WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson may move a little slower than they did when they married 70 years ago, but their love for one another and the Lord Jesus Christ is stronger now than ever; and

WHEREAS, residents of Ringgold, Georgia, Mr. and Mrs. Joe and Ruby Johnson are two exemplary citizens in wartime and peace, in sickness and in health, in joy and sorrow, in plenty and in want, and it is abundantly fitting and proper that these distinguished Georgians be appropriately recognized.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body commend Mr. Joseph "Joe" Burton Johnson and Mrs. Ruby Elizabeth Johnson on the grand occasion of their 71st wedding anniversary and extend sincere best wishes for many more happy years together.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Mr. and Mrs. Joe and Ruby Johnson.