Roll Call Tribute

Homer H. Johnson
January 16, 1928 - April 4, 2019

Homer Hudson "Cotton" Johnson (91) went to be with the Lord April 4, 2019.

Cotton was born January 16, 1928 in Iredell, Texas to the late, James Henry Johnson Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Tanksley Johnson. Cotton played Texas football and played the piccolo in the marching band during half time. After high school, Cotton enlisted in the army for two years where he was stationed in Japan.

Upon discharge, he attended Texas A&M University where he majored in Geophysics. As a senior in the Aggie Corps of Cadets, he was the Commander of Air Force Squadron 7 of over 100 freshmen. A Class of 1951 graduate, in June of 1951 he was commissioned Second Lieutenant, United States Air Force and attended flight school.

Their true love story started as a blind date on Labor Day weekend 1952, on Daytona Beach when Cotton was getting his jet upgraded to the F-86 Jet Fighter. Jane was a five foot, blue eyed, blonde and he was smitten immediately. Both were good dancers and enjoyed the beach. They wrote each other for two months and then married four days after he proposed in Nashville, Tennessee on October 30, 1952. The inscription in the small white Bible he gave her says it all, "Janie, my love forever. Cotton".

After five months of marriage, Cotton was assigned overseas in Japan to fly the F-86 in the Korean War. While he served overseas their son, Dale, was born. After returning to the United States and honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant, Jane and Cotton moved to Fort Worth in 1955, where their daughter was born. Cotton started work as an engineer at General Dynamics. He worked on the B-58, F-111 but his favorite work was on flight test of the F-16.

Both Cotton and Jane were members of Benbrook United Methodist Church and choir since 1955. They loved the choir and their Sunday school class. Cotton even served as an interim choir director and both were active on various committees at the church in their younger years. Jane served in Women's leadership and hosted or made meals for every wedding, shower, illness, surgery, or funeral for her church family. They had a deep faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, understanding that "you don't work your way to heaven. You are saved by grace" Ephesians 2:8. Cotton's favorite verse was Romans 8:28 and sincerely believed "God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose."

Hunting and fishing became a family affair with weekends at the lease in Palo Pinto. Together they enjoyed gardening and flower gardens, expanded to vegetable gardens where grandchildren learned to love vegetables.

They camped all over the United States as a family, out of the back end of a station wagon. Later they traveled in style in their RV and stayed in Ruidoso for the summer and South Texas for the winter.

Their love of dancing grew into a love of square dancing in the seventies and for the next 40 years they danced with Circle 8 Square Dance Club and all over the South. After Cotton retired, Jane thought they needed another activity so they took up playing the ukuleles and singing with the White Settlement Senior Center.

They not only loved their children and son-in-law, Max, they especially loved their grandchildren and made every soccer game, horse trial, gymnastics meet, dance competition, choir concert, school play or awards ceremony. Cotton taught them to run the tiller in the garden and played monster with them. Their grandchildren were the highlight of their life and they spent many hours and evenings with them.
Survivors: Son, Dale Johnson; daughter, Janet and husband, Max Falls; grandchildren, Clay and wife, Heather Falls, Ashley and husband, Karl Richey, Haley Falls; great-grandchildren, Kendall Falls; sister of Cotton, Mary Barton; and many more nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

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