Joan Avery Mulvaney Johnson

Joan Avery Mulvaney Johnson
4/10/1933 – 6/27/2021
(a.k.a. Joanie, Mom, Gar, Garsie)

Born on Monday, April 10, 1933, in Asheville NC to Norbert P. and Lillian A. Felthaus Mulvaney, Joan was the second of four children. She is preceded in death by her husband of 68 years Gene D. Johnson, mother, father, two brothers Jack and Jim, sister Carolyn, and great grandson Brett Tinsley.

Joan was a cradle catholic and a lifetime member of St. Joan of Arc Parish where she served the church in various roles. She sang in the choir, was a member of the ladies’ auxiliary, served on the Parish counsel, and in 1993, Joan facilitated the publication of St. Joan of Arc Church and School 65 Years of Faith and Service. Joan, her brothers, sister and children attended St. Joan of Arc school. Joan graduated from St. Genevieve of the Pines in 1950. She spoke often of her days at SGP and her friends “The Toppers”. The ladies kept in touch over the years.

On September 29, 1950, at the age of 17, Joan married the love of her life Gene Davis Johnson (age 20) and settled down in West Asheville. Joan and Gene had seven children: Kathy Carr of Lavonia, GA, Michael Johnson (Teresa) of Asheville, Susan Sheary of Morganton, Steve Johnson (Joel) of Asheville, Margie Pressley (Jerry) of Nebo, Ken Johnson (Sally) of Asheville, and Mary Lee (Jack) of Zebulon, NC. Joan truly left her mark on the world with her 7 children, 19 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and 7 great-great-grandchildren.

As dad’s partner in life, mom was the co-owner of Johnson’s Atlantic Service Station at the intersection of Haywood Road and Fairfax Avenue in West Asheville and currently Johnsons Auto Recycling. Joan kept the books for the business.

Outside of work, her life as the matriarch of the family was centered around her children and grandchildren. She loved to have everyone over for dinners, game nights and sleepovers. Christmas was her favorite holiday and shopping for presents began as early as September each year. We called her Garsie Clause.

The Johnson children loved to spend time with Gar and Papa at the lake and as the family grew the lake trips grew to include multiple boats and campers. Thank you, Vic and Robin Fraley, for allowing us to stay at your place every July 4th week for years. The annual trips were the highlight of our year. Mom would plan the meals and buy the groceries making sure to include all the favorite snacks and remind us not to forget to bring our games. A large box (sometimes two) of Tootsie Roll Pops was a staple. The pontoon boat had to have a deck of cards, puzzle books, chocolate cookies, peanut butter crackers for snacking. The boat ride accompanied by a tootsie pop was expected daily and it better not rain! Fond memories of times with Gar are regaled in Facebook posts by family members. Thank you to our Facebook family for your prayers and condolences.

Gar never missed an opportunity to go to Walt Disney World and the more children and grandchildren she could get to come along the better. Parents were delighted that Gar wanted to take their children even if they could not come. She was a member of the Mickey Mouse Club, knew all the characters, movies, and stories. She made sure everyone took home Disney souvenirs from each trip. All new babies needed a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal from Gar. So much fun!

Gar loved her sweets, classic movies, reading and music. Chocolate was the perfect gift. She encouraged her progeny to enrich their lives through faith, education, and the arts. Mom would scour the entertainment section for the new movies or plays at Flat Rock Playhouse and send out “let’s go” message to all. She listened to the Rat Pack, Andy Williams and some of the new music. If she could not remember the words to a song, she would fill in with La, La, La. Her motto was “only go home when you have nowhere else to go”.

For approximately 15 years mom battled Alzheimer’s disease. Her granddaughter, Jennifer “Jenna Benna” Pressley Deweese provided many hours of loving care to her in her home. Jenna and Gar shared many adventures. Ask Jenna, she has lots of stories to share with us for years to come. The Johnsons wish to acknowledge and thank all her caregivers, Karen Snelson, Theresa Johnson, Shanna Warren, and Carrie Cooper, Chris Powell for the loving care they provided to Joan in recent years. We know you loved mom and grieve with us. But we also know that you are happy that she is freed from the pain and confusion caused by this awful disease. We also wish to thank the nurses at Four Seasons Hospice for their support these past weeks.

Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. St Joan of Arc Church 768 Asbury Rd., Candler, NC 28715. Interment will be at Green Hills Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at the church from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning prior to the service.

Memorials may be made to Memory Care of Asheville, 100 Far Horizons Lane, Asheville, NC 28803.