Clifton Averette Johnson

Clifton Averette Johnson passed away on Saturday, March 18 of 2023 at the age of 90. He was a recent resident of Everlan in Johnson City, Tennessee and passed away in the comfort of his home with his wife, Carolyn Alice Johnson, by his side.

Clifton was born in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama in 1932 to the late Homer and Nan Ray Johnson of Homewood, AL. He joined the Air Force during the Korean War and after attending flight training as a navigator, he became a member of a crew in the Strategic Air Command flying reconnaissance missions aboard B-47H medium range bombers and earned the prestigious Air Medal for Meritorious Achievement.

He left to attend Florida State University where he graduated with a degree in mathematics and was elected to Pi Mu Epsilon an honorary mathematics fraternity. He worked in computers at Eglin AFB, Ft Walton Beach Florida for two years before being recalled into the Air Force during the Vietnam War.

He worked as an avionics instructor at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS for six years before going on to become a programmer for Digital Equipment Corp, in MA. He later worked for the Atomic Energy Commission and retired from the Dept. of Energy and SAIC in Oak Ridge, TN.

He remained in the AF Reserves throughout his civilian career and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel with the Aeronautical Research Division in Systems Acquisition Management.

Clifton was a devoted husband to Carol for 67 years and loved family, square dancing, computers, model trains and musical instruments of all types. He was a serious professional, but he loved to meet people wherever he went, and he traveled with family around the United States, then around the world. When he wasn’t pouring over computer code, he was being a deacon at church, or teaching Sunday school class, or being part of the Square Dancing and clogging clubs. He was a Stephens Minister of the Methodist Church in Oak Ridge, TN. After his own bout with cancer, he volunteered at the Cancer Survivors clinic in Oak Ridge and Knoxville, and for the Census Bureau. He later donated his beloved trains to the Oak Ridge Children’s Museum when it was time to downsize his home. He began funding college accounts for all his grandkids. He loved to laugh and even in his last weeks he maintained a cheerful and humorous disposition.

Clifton is survived by his wife, Carol, and their 3 children, Bruce (Cynthia), Carol, and Ellen; grandkids Ariana, Michael (Catherine), Leslie (Rob), Sarah (Jacob), Andrew, and Erin; and great grandkids Pierce, Emory, James, and Elijah. He is predeceased by his parents and his beloved son-in-law, Robert.

A memorial service for Clifton will be held at the VA’s Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, TN, and presided over by Pastor Doug Grove-DeJarnett of Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church of Johnson City, TN. Clifton will be interred at Munsey’s Columbarium.

Donations can be made in memory of Clifton to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (https://pages.lls.org/ltn/tn/MidTN23/LeslieandSarahsWarriors).

We will always remember and cherish the kindness, humor, and generosity of Clif for the rest of our days.