Gwenda Hazell Johnson

March 4, 1923 - December 16, 2014
A memorial service will be held for Gwenda Hazell Johnson, 91, of Ville Platte, at Our Lady Queen of All Saints Catholic Church in Ville Platte at 11 a.m., Saturday, January 17, 2015.
Ms. Johnson died Tuesday, December 16, 2014, after a 13-year battle with Alzheimer’s. She was born in Bristol, England, on March 4, 1923, to Albert and Lillian Hazell, the second of six children, all who have preceded her in death. During World War II, “Gwenie,” as she was called by her brother and sisters, served in the British Women’s Fire Service. She met her future husband, Sgt. Joe Johnson of the U.S. Army, while playing the piano for American soldiers at the Jubilee Inn in Cornwall. They married in June 1945, and in October 1946, she boarded the S.S. President Tyler with other war brides and arrived in the United States.
For almost 50 years, “Mrs. Johnson” taught piano and voice to children, teenagers and adults in Ville Platte and the surrounding area. She served as choir director for both Sacred Heart and Our Lady Queen of All Saints for several years. She will be remembered by many couples as the organist and vocalist for their weddings. She also was a former director of the Cotton Festival Cotton Pickers. Her favorite hobbies included gardening, baking, knitting and sharing her English traditions with family and friends. Her favorite time of day was at 3 p.m., or as she would say, “It’s tea time in the Johnson house.” Her bright smile and cheerful attitude will be deeply missed.
Survivors include one son, Anthony Johnson; one daughter, Susan Johnson Fusilier; five grandchildren, Chuck Tatman, Jackie Fusilier Riche, Katie Fusilier Rather, Ashley Johnson Franatovich and Amy Johnson Ponson; and 11 great-grandchildren, Brooks, Britton and Jacque Riche, Isabelle, Kate-Camille and Charlie Tatman, Roan and Rhys Rather, Olivia and Madelyn Franatovich and Michael Ponson.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Joe Johnson; her parents, Albert and Lillian Hazell; and five siblings.