Roll Call Tribute

Thomas C. "Tom" Johnson 

July 17, 1950 - November 30, 2025 

Rev. Thomas C. Johnson, a longtime resident of San Benito, died of cancer on November 30, 2025. He was 75.

He was born July 17, 1950, in California, but spent his entire child childhood in Mexico, where his parents served as Presbyterian missionaries for many years. He attended bilingual grade schools in Mexico and then returned to attend high school at the Presbyterian Pan American School in Kingsville, Texas, graduating in 1968. It was there that he met his future wife, Rosalinda of Cuernavaca, Mexico, who survives him.

After graduation from Pan American, he went on to the University of Wyoming, in Laramie, from which he graduated in 1973 with a major in Agricultural Sciences. To put himself through college, he spent college summers selling Bibles door-to-door. He also attended and graduated from Texas A & M.

After graduating from college, he returned to Mexico, married Rosalinda, and the two of them did missionary work as an independent agricultural specialist in a remote rural area of the state of Michoacan.

In 1992 he felt a call to study for the Christian ministry, and he and his family returned to Texas. He enrolled at the Austin Theological Seminary, from which he graduated with a Master of Divinity in 1996. He was ordained as a Presbyterian Minister that same year.

His work as a Presbyterian minister began in Ukiah, California, but after several years there, he returned to the Rio Grande Valley and served for many years as pastor of the Spanish-speaking congregation of Getsemani Presbyterian Church in San Benito. He retired from full-time ministry but continued to work actively to support Spanish-speaking congregations in the Brownsville and San Benito areas, preaching on Sundays and managing Bible study programs.

His entire life revolved around his Christian faith and work, and he faced his cancer diagnosis with serenity and unshakable confidence. In addition to his wife Rosalinda, he is survived by his daughter Ruth; his son-in-law, Candido Barrales; son Thomas, all of San Benito, and his granddaughter, Citabria of Austin. He is also survived by his siblings, Amb. Donald, James (Julie), David (Bon), Linda (Homayoon), Paul (Angie), and numerous nephews and nieces.

A graveside service will take place on December 4, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., at San Benito Cemetery in San Benito, Texas.