Clarice Collier Johnson

July 18, 2020

Clarice Collier Johnson of Suffolk, Virginia passed away on July 18, 2020 at her home in Suffolk. She was 91 years old. Clarice was born to parents James G. Collier and Ceferina Garcia Collier in Fitzgerald, Georgia. She graduated class of 1946 from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. She attended Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, North Carolina and graduated with an Associates of Arts degree followed by studies at Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, Tennessee where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950. She continued her education at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1950 Clarice married Andrew Boydston Johnson Jr. of Portsmouth, Virginia. They lived together in Lovingston, Shenandoah, Staunton and Suffolk, Virginia. Together they had four children, Bruce L. Johnson, Karen L. Johnson, Cheryl J. Randolph and James L. Johnson. She had eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Clarice was a teacher at John Yeates High School from 1969 to 1985. She was active in the Respass Beach-Holly Acres Civic League. She served on the Portsmouth-Suffolk Joint Commission on the Craney Island Landfill, the Suffolk Transportation Commission and the Suffolk City School Board. She was a member of Churchland Baptist Church and the Fellowship Chapter #140, Order of Eastern Star. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Andrew, and by her first son, Bruce. A graveside funeral service will be held at 10:00 am Friday at Olive Branch Cemetery. Visitation will be held Thursday from 5-6:30 pm in Loving Funeral Home. Due to current circumstances surrounding Covid-19 please remember social distancing and face coverings are required.