By Ralphine Major

One look at the anniversary invitation unlocked a treasure-trove of memories, taking me back to the time our father’s youngest sister was married.

Georgia Major and Johnny Johnson met at C. M. McClung & Company where they both worked.  On April 3, 1965, they were married at Fairview Baptist Church in Corryton.  I was a junior bridesmaid.  Weeks before the wedding, our father was hospitalized with a heart condition.  The late Ron Warwick’s black-and-white photograph of the wedding party became my parents’ only link to the family wedding they could not attend.

Georgia and Johnny celebrated their golden day with family and friends on Sunday, April 12, at Salem Baptist Church in Halls.  On display was Georgia’s beautiful wedding gown which was made by her sister and matron of honor, Katherine Major Ward.  Katherine made several of the bridesmaids’ dresses, including mine.  They were pretty pink satin!  There was also an original copy of “The Grist,” McClung’s  employee newsletter, with the couple’s wedding photograph.  On hand was Eddie Osborne, a co-worker  and master pianist who provided the music for the wedding.  Several of Georgia’s high school classmates came—many from out of town—to help celebrate the joyful day.  They included Wanda Shaver Williams, Dorothy Stormer Prater, Barbara Idol Sanders, and Janice White Kivett.   One glimpse of these ladies made me think back to when I first met them.  As a child, I was delighted when Georgia Ann (named for her father, George, and mother, Anna) brought friends home with her.  Our family lived directly across the road, and I stayed right on the heels of the “big” girls.

Johnny spent most of his career in sales with Creswell Office Supply, Acuff Office Supply, and Evans Office Supply.  In 2000, he established Johnny Johnson Cleaning Service and worked at several locations for the United States Postal Service until he retired in 2008.  For more than twenty years, Georgia worked for prominent Halls Optometrist Dr. Dennis Crowe.  She teamed up with Betty Henry to form B&G Catering located in the Gibbs Community and eventually worked in the business full-time.  Georgia retired from B&G in 2004 after eleven years.  It was fitting that B&G catered the golden event with a gorgeous anniversary cake, punch, and tables full of mints, nuts, and lots of delicious fruits!

These days the Johnsons enjoy spending time with their three adult children and their spouses—  Kim (Mark) Karnes, John (Vanessa) Johnson, and Elizabeth (Billy) Johnson.  Georgia and all three children graduated from Gibbs High School, and all of them still live in the Gibbs Community except Elizabeth, who lives in Georgia.  The Johnsons are proud grandparents to six precious grandchildren—Nicole, Cora, Sara, Bailey, Jesse, and Jack.