Joel Anthony Johnson, Sr.

Mr. Joel Anthony Johnson Sr, 85, of Raleigh, NC passed away January

25th at 6:36 pm.

He is survived by his wife, LaVonda, children Roland, Melanie and Anthony

(Tonya), grandchildren Jonathan (Kristina), Christopher (Ashley), Luke,

Jimmy, Michael and Kerri; great grandchildren Kenzie, Willow, Jameson,

Michael Jr., Lily, Arielle and Hunter; sister Jeannie and multiple cousins

and dear friends.

He was predeceased by his parents James and Annie, as well as his

siblings James Johnson, Elizabeth “Lib” Parker, Bertha “Bert” Medlin,

Mildred Kalsey, Lois Underhill, Betsy Anne Smith and William Johnson.

Joel was born in Raleigh in 1938, spending the majority of his childhood in

the Caraleigh neighborhood. He was the 8th of nine children to Annie and

James M. Johnson.

He earned the rank of Eagle Scout prior to graduating from Broughton High

school in 1957. Some of the oak trees planted as part of his Eagle Scout

project still stand at Caraleigh Baptist Church off of Summit Ave In Raleigh.

Joel was a proud US Army veteran, paratrooper, Expert Infantry Badge

recipient, (along with numerous other military awards) who served in the

82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg as well as the 8th Infantry Division in Germany

during the late 1950’s.

Joel used the GI Bill to earn a degree in Civil Engineering. He worked with

the Department of Transportation, primarily in Bridge Maintenance for over

30 years.

Possessing an unparalleled work ethic, he ran successful security guard

and later burglar alarm businesses while working full time as an engineer

for the State of North Carolina. He was incredibly proud that he held the 8th

license granted by the NC Alarm System Licensing Board. He was a

respected businessman in the community with a reputation for quality work,

integrity, honesty and fairness.

Joel (“Lone Wolf” to his Y / Indian Guides tribe in the 1980’s) was an avid

hunter, spending many weekends with his hunting buddies at the “Hunting

Club” in Caswell County.

Joel was intensely loyal to his family, friends and church community. Joel

attended Caraleigh Baptist Church as a child and returned as an adult to

serve as Deacon as his father did. Joel has many ties and friends (some

from childhood) at Caraleigh Baptist.

He was married to his beloved wife LaVonda for 62 years. Taking care of

his family was Joel’s priority. “Grandaddy” was loved by all.

The funeral service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, January 30th at

Caraleigh Baptist Church, Raleigh. Interment will follow at Montlawn

Memorial Park. The family will receive friends at the church from 10:00

until 11:00 am prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Jim and Betsy Bryan

Hospice home of UNC Health Care, 100 Roundtree Way Pittsboro, NC 27312.