SYBIL BICKHAM JOHNSON
Submitted by Casscounty1 on
July 31, 1917- Aug. 23, 2013
We are saddened by the loss of the much-beloved matriarch of the Bickham Family of Cass County. Sybil Bickham Johnson, 96, was the sixth of nine children born to John Calvin Bickham (1856-1932) and Eugenia Viola Pruitt Bickham (1883-1945).
She was preceded in death by her husband, David Chesley Johnson (1922-1986); son, David O'Neal Johnson (1950-1994); four brothers, William Grogan "Jack", Brant, J.C. and Colquitt Bickham; and four sisters, Opal Bedgood, Mary Blizzard, Charlene Law and Luryn Toney.
Her father, a sawmill operator, moved from New Colony to Huffines, where the Bickhams became farmers. Their land still belongs entirely to Bickham descendents. Sybil said her parents likely met at an Atlanta boarding house run by Eugenia Pruitt's mother. She attended Shady Grove Baptist Church as a child and as an adult, she was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Atlanta.
She was a 1935 graduate of Atlanta High School, where she played basketball and baseball. She attended Texarkana Business College before she began working at Allday's Department Store and later at Hanner Insurance, where she met David C. Johnson. The couple married March 12, 1947, after he returned from his service in World War II. They later owned Atlanta Motor Co., "the Ford dealership."
She also helped to raise two nephews and one niece, Jackie and Sammy Bickham, and JoAnn Bickham Wiggins.
Her advice to her family was, "Live a clean life and live a long time." She always said alcohol never passed her lips.
Survivors include nine Bickham nieces and nephews; four Johnson nieces and nephews; two brothers-in-law, Hardy Johnson and Henry Johnson; and several generations of nieces and nephews.
Visitation was from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, at Hanner Funeral Service.
She was preceded in death by her husband, David Chesley Johnson (1922-1986); son, David O'Neal Johnson (1950-1994); four brothers, William Grogan "Jack", Brant, J.C. and Colquitt Bickham; and four sisters, Opal Bedgood, Mary Blizzard, Charlene Law and Luryn Toney.
Her father, a sawmill operator, moved from New Colony to Huffines, where the Bickhams became farmers. Their land still belongs entirely to Bickham descendents. Sybil said her parents likely met at an Atlanta boarding house run by Eugenia Pruitt's mother. She attended Shady Grove Baptist Church as a child and as an adult, she was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Atlanta.
She was a 1935 graduate of Atlanta High School, where she played basketball and baseball. She attended Texarkana Business College before she began working at Allday's Department Store and later at Hanner Insurance, where she met David C. Johnson. The couple married March 12, 1947, after he returned from his service in World War II. They later owned Atlanta Motor Co., "the Ford dealership."
She also helped to raise two nephews and one niece, Jackie and Sammy Bickham, and JoAnn Bickham Wiggins.
Her advice to her family was, "Live a clean life and live a long time." She always said alcohol never passed her lips.
Survivors include nine Bickham nieces and nephews; four Johnson nieces and nephews; two brothers-in-law, Hardy Johnson and Henry Johnson; and several generations of nieces and nephews.
Visitation was from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, at Hanner Funeral Service.
Funeral services were 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25, at Hanner Funeral Chapel. Interment followed at Pinecrest Cemetery in Atlanta under the direction of Hanner Funeral Service.
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