Vincent Johnson Jr.

Obituary For Vincent Johnson Jr.

Funeral service pending

Burial: Arlington National Cemetery, June 25, 2026 11 a.m. Please be present at the Admin Building by 10:15 a.m. You will not be permitted onsite until 10 a.m.

Vincent Lee Johnson, Jr. Obituary

Vincent Lee Johnson, Jr. entered this world on September 18, 1944 in the small mining community of Aldridge, Alabama. The first son of Vincent Lee Johnson, Sr., and Hattie Mae (Crayton) Johnson, Vincent was called to his eternal home on March 8, 2026.

Vincent lived a storied life. He graduated from Lawton Senior High School in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1962, where he lettered in football, basketball and track. He won a state championship in long jump, which helped him earn a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, where he ran track for three years. Vincent also became a proud member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

On March 7, 1965, Vincent witnessed the infamous Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, and was inspired to join the Civil Rights Movement. He dropped out of the University of Oklahoma to join an activist group called the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). As a member of SNCC, Vincent traveled throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama participating in sit-ins for desegregation and voter education programs. During this time, Vincent and his comrades faced police brutality and death threats from the Klan.

After a year in SNCC, Vincent enrolled at the historically Black college Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, where he graduated in 1968 with a bachelor of science in education. After graduating, Vincent was drafted into the Vietnam War. He was awarded two Purple Heart’s, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Vietnam Service Medal for his brave service.

He used the money from his G.I. Bill to enroll at Alabama State University. The difficult return to civilian life was made easier by other veterans, including his roommate and best friend, Wilbur Merriweather. Vincent went on to earn a master’s degree in of guidance and counseling from Alabama State University in 1971.

Vincent would cheerfully reminisce about his “’playa’ days” in Montgomery, Alabama. Those years of partying—he was a local late-night DJ for a time—and dating came to an abrupt halt when Vincent met his soulmate, Ann, at a gathering in 1980. Unfortunately for the woman he came to the party with, it was love at first sight. Vincent and Ann married on September 25, 1982. Their son Vincent III (“Trey”) was born on May 9, 1987 and their daughter Tracey was born on October 21, 1991.

Vincent worked in personnel management for the Federal Government for decades and retired as the deputy managing director at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2007. Vincent used his counseling skills informally to mentor the young people in his life. Whether it was a troubled friend of Trey or Tracey or a church member in need of advice, he would gladly offer a listening ear and encouraging words. After his retirement, he worked at West Springfield High School and served as the sponsor for the Ethiopian and Eritrean Students Club which he would pridefully tell his East African caretakers later in life.

Although members of Antioch Baptist Church, Vincent and Ann served as Deacon and Deaconess at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church for many years.

Vincent was preceded in death by his wife, Deborah Ann. His memory will be cherished by his son Trey and daughter-in-law Tiffany; daughter Tracey and son-in-law David Korsen; grandchildren Olivia, Vincent IV, Sophia, and Chloe; sister Linda Matthews and brother John Johnson; nephews John (Starr) and Aaron Johnson, Keith (Denise), Kevin (Elizabeth), and Kellen Matthews; cousins Lucinda, Vincent, Sharon, Raphael, and Eric Johnson; and beloved friends Allita Irby and Gail Tharpe, Mike and Essey Miller, Jesse Palmer, Wilbur Merriwether, and Charlie and Tajuana Williams.

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