Hunt County, TX, Obit

Submitted by Gena Forsyth and Brandon Darrow

Cemeteries of Tx: Norm Mayfield

Bloom Johnson Heart Attack Victim (Greenville Herald Banner, Sunday Morning, September 5, 1971)

Funeral Today for Veteran County Clerk

Hunt County Clerk Bloom Johnson, after referred to as the county’s most popular elected official, died suddenly of a heart attack about 11:45 p.m. Friday in Citizens General Hospital. He was 58.

Attesting to his popularity, he was elected county clerk for five consecutive terms and was unopposed in his last two elections. County Clerk more than 16 years, Johnson was in his first year of his fifth term.

Although he was born in Greenville on March 28, 1913, he grew upon a farm in Campbell, and graduated from Campbell High School. Even then, he had developed the suave, mischievous manner which was his best-known characteristic.

He began his business life as a checker for G.S. Berry Groceries in Greenville. In 1938, he met Jim Coker and they worked together in the funeral home business.

In 1954, Johnson ran for his first term as county clerk at the age of 41. He did not like to say “no” to anybody, according to his brother-in-law J.D. Stovall, principal of Crockett School. He would always say, “I can’t help you, but…”

Johnson had held almost every position of responsibility in the Wesley Methodist Church, including steward of the administrative board. “He was one of the most respected me in our community,” Coker said.

He was also well-known outside the county. During World War II he earned several life-long friends while painting ships in the Orange shipyards. He was a regular participant in the activities of the Texas Association of County and District Clerks and was active in sponsoring informational Seminars for Northeast Texas Clerks.

His father was the late Bloom S. Johnson and his mother was the former Emma Paschall.

Johnson, a consummate politician, was famed for “the manner in which he conducted and emceed political rallies over the years.”

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. today in the Wesley Methodist Church with the Rev. Jim Gatlin officiating.

Burial will be in the Shady Grove Cemetery under the direction of Coker-Mathews-Peters Funeral Home. Pallbearers include H.J. Chandler, Jack Griggs, O.K. Overall, B.T. Brooks, Jim Coker and Cecil Billingslea.

Honorary pallbearers will be officials and employees of the Hunt County courthouse.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Opal Johnson, his daughter, Mrs. Jackie Pennington, a school teacher in St. Louis, Mo. And his brother, A.S. Johnson of Campbell.