Mr. Leon Johnson, age 90, of Vevay, Indiana, entered this life on September 6, 1931 in Winchester, Kentucky. He was raised in Winchester, Kentucky and was the youngest son of the late Millard Clifton “Cliff” and Mamie Goolman Johnson. In 1948, Leon and the family moved to the Switzerland County community where he resided on the family farm until his passing. Leon played high school basketball and was a 1950 graduate of the Vevay High School. On December 22, 1954, Leon was united in marriage to Pauline Elizabeth Wiley at the Switzerland Baptist Church in Vevay, Indiana. This happy union of over 67 years of marriage was blessed with a daughter, Sherri. Leon drove a milk truck for Kroger for $7.00 a day. Leon farmed all of his life, raising tobacco, hay, hogs, sheep and cattle. He also hauled cattle for folks for 40 years and enjoyed every weekly trip to the sale barn. He worked the ring for the Owenton Stock Yards for several years. He was also a former school bus driver for the Switzerland County School Corporation for four years. He also drove for Standard Oil for several years. Leon enjoyed taking Pauline to town every Tuesday to get her hair done. Every Mother’s Day, Leon would plant marigolds for his wife. Leon also worked for the Soil and Water Conservation District for five years. He served as the secretary for The Switzerland County Area Planning Commission for 10 years and as a Switzerland County Commissioner. Leon also enjoyed horseshoe pitching in Vevay, Hanover and Madison, Indiana and was in the top 10 players of Indiana. He won third place in horseshoe pitching in the Class A Indiana State Championship. Leon enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, gardening and tending to his rose bushes, as well as, mowing and bush hogging. Leon loved Kentucky Wildcats basketball and watching Animal Planet in the evenings. Leon was a math wiz and could riddle off any math problem thrown at him within seconds. He also loved sitting under his shade tree with his cat, Carmen. Leon passed away at 12:21 a.m., Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at the Norton Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky.
Leon will be lovingly remembered by his daughter, Sherri Crawford and her husband, Ronnie of Vevay, IN; his grandchildren, Chelsey (CJ) Thomas, Ashley McGrew, Shelby Stethen and Brittany Mullins; his great-grandchildren, Brooklyn, Ava, Bryson, Isabella, Evelyn, Morgan and Lincoln; his brother-in-law, horseshoe and gardening partner, Doug Ray and his several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by wife, Pauline E. (Wiley) Johnson, died January 18, 2022; his parents, Millard Clifton “Cliff” and Mamie Goolman Johnson and his siblings, Millard Johnson, Thomas Elwood Johnson, David Johnson, Clarence Kidd Johnson, Charles Allen Johnson, Cora Mae Haggard, Mabel Johnson, Gladys Shelton and Anna Mary Brookshire.
Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at the Haskell & Morrison Funeral Home, 208 Ferry Street, Vevay, Indiana 47043.
Funeral services will be conducted at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 7, 2022, by Rev. Mike Jones, at the Haskell & Morrison Funeral Home, 208 Ferry Street, Vevay, Indiana 47043.
Interment will follow in the Vevay Cemetery, Vevay, Indiana.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Charity of the Donor’s Choice. Cards are available at the funeral home or online at www.haskellandmorrison.com