Mary Ann Happer Johnson

Mary Ann Happer Johnson, age 92, passed away peacefully of cancer on May 21, 2021, at the beautiful Moosehaven Retirement Community located on the St. Johns River, in Orange Park, Clay County, Florida. She moved from Henderson NC to Moosehaven in 2015, and absolutely loved the wonderful residents and dedicated staff at Moosehaven and all her new friends at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Green Cove Springs. She loved everyone and never met a stranger. Up until 2 years ago, she attended senior dances weekly always leaving her trusty walking cane on the table when she got asked to dance.

She was born and raised in Kinston, Lenoir County, North Carolina, and was a 1946 graduate of Kinston’s Grainger High School. She graduated from the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC, in the Class of 1950 and later earned her Masters Degree at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. She taught for many years at Grainger High School in Kinston and later for many years at the Fairfield County Public Schools in Darien CT, before her retirement.

She is survived by her brother, Mills Marshall Happer III, of Venice, FL and his wife, Karen Scott Happer, along with her nephews, Mills Marshall Happer IV (Tracy L. Ambrozic) of Jacksonville, FL and William Murray Happer of Garner NC and niece, Carolyn Kirby Happer (James H. Choate) of Orlando, FL.

Her husband, Williamson William Johnson, Jr., predeceased her on January 10, 1987, in Henderson, Vance County, NC. Her mother, Mae Pollock Happer and her father, Mills Marshall Happer, Jr., predeceased her on September 14, 1983 and September 16, 1983, in Kinston, Lenoir County NC.

Burial will be a private ceremony at Westview Cemetery in Kinston, Lenoir County, NC.

Any memorial donations should be to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 1346, 400 St. John’s Avenue, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043 or Moosehaven, 1701 Park Avenue, Orange Park, FL 32073.