“Her life was a blessing. Her memory a treasure. She is loved beyond words and missed beyond measure.”
April 12, 1962 - May 18, 2025 (63 years old)
Born on April 12, 1962 in Savannah, Georgia
Passed away on May 18, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina
About
Denise Marie Johnson was born in Savannah, Georgia, the second of five children, and spent thirty-three years in public education — first as a third-grade teacher, then as principal of Ridgeview Elementary in Charlotte.
She had a gift for remembering names, and she used it. Former students still stopped her in the grocery store twenty years later, and she knew every one of them. Her kitchen was the gathering place: Sunday dinners, birthday cakes, and a peach cobbler recipe she guarded closely and never actually wrote down.
She is survived by her husband Marcus, their two daughters, four grandchildren, and a very large church family who loved her dearly.
Quick Facts
Favorite Quote
Lift as you climb.
— An old family saying
Known For
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