“Bob” Johnson, 66, of Opelika died on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021 at East Alabama Medical Center, two weeks after suffering a massive cardiac arrest. He was surrounded by family and friends as he went to meet his Lord and Savior face-to-face.
Born in Opelika on March 30, 1955, Bob grew up in Miami, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana.
As a teenage boy, he spent his summers living in Auburn with his aunt and uncle, Ashley and Patsy Johnson, and working at J&M Bookstore in Auburn, where his whole family worked at some point. It was during those summers that he fell in love with the Opelika-Auburn community.
Bob enrolled in Auburn in 1973, graduated with a degree in agricultural education in 1980 and remained a huge Auburn football fan his whole life. Early in his career, he was a firefighter with the Lafayette (Alabama) Fire Department, the Auburn Fire Department and was still a volunteer firefighter with the Ridge Grove Community Fire Department, where he served a term as chief. In 1984, he left firefighting to join the human resources and safety department at Diversified Products. After DP closed, Bob joined Skilstaf in Alex City, followed by a long tenure with Panasonic in Columbus, Georgia. He retired from Panasonic in May 2021 and in August, reunited with many of his DP buddies, taking a part time position with CoachComm in Auburn. Bob was also the owner of Triple J Farms, where he raised black angus cattle for more than 25 years.
He was the ultimate family man, devoting himself to all things involving his wife of 39 years, Myra, and their only daughter, Carri. Bob and Myra built their home as a place for Carri and her friends to gather and enjoy time together and they treated every child like their own. He (and Myra) loved hosting end-of-year/season parties, cookouts, girlfriend spend-the-nights and pretty much any and all opportunities for Carri and her friends to hang out at their home. He was a proud Opelika High School cheer dad and was a vital part of the Ovations Show Choir, driving the equipment trailer to competitions all across the southeast. Even after Carri graduated, Bob stayed involved at OHS, serving as the spotter for the stadium announcer at Bulldog football games for the past 10 years.
Bob had a fun, loveable personality and was rarely seen without a big smile. He made everyone he greeted feel like they were his favorite person. He truly enjoyed life, got the most out of his and gave his all to everything he did, including the hobbies he immersed himself in. He was a master deviled egg maker and collected egg plates (35 in all) to serve his fare. He passed his love of history to Carri and together, they visited every presidential home in Virginia. An avid beekeeper, Bob managed 12 hives that produced the honey that won first place in 2018 at the Alabama Beekeeper Conference. His honey has also been a favorite at the annual Pumpkin Patch at The Farm at Rocky Top in Salem. He loved kayak fishing in the low country of Savannah, Georgia, and the James River in Charlottesville, Virginia, and was a proud member of the #YakLife community. Also, while visiting Carri in Savannah, Bob loved metal detector treasure hunting along the beach. Myra, Bob and Carri traveled the world together, often with other family and friends. He served on the Southern Union Community College Business Advisory Board and was a member of the Saugahatchee Beekeepers and First Baptist Church of Opelika, where he was a part of the Helping Hands parking ministry.
In addition to his wife, the former Myra Mask, and daughter, Carri of Savannah, Georgia., Bob is also survived by five sisters: Diana (Kenneth) Pearson of Little Rock, Arkansas, Amy (Bob) Yerkey of Lafayette, Terry (John) Anglin of Charlottesville, Jo (Scott) Crawford of Jacksonville, Florida, and Gina (Alan) Lee of Opelika; sister-in-law, Patsy Coan of Opelika; aunts, Elea Peppers of Montgomery and Patsy Johnson of Auburn; uncle, Billy Johnson of St. Mary’s, Georgia and 13 nieces and nephews.
Visitation was held on Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Jeffcoat Trant Funeral Home and Crematory in Opelika. There was a Celebration of Life service Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Opelika.
For those who would like to make financial contributions, the family suggests the gift of a beehive for
Heifer International
1 World Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72202 or www.heifer.org/gift-catalog/animals/gift-of-honeybees.html .