Ella Mae (Smith) Johnson (1904 - 2010)

Born 13 Jan 1904 in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas

Died 22 Mar 2010 at age 106 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Biography

Ella (Smith) Johnson is a part of US Black heritage.

Ella (Smith) Johnson was a centenarian, living to age 106.

Mrs. Johnson was a social worker and civic leader turned Centenarian Celebrity.

She lived 106 years, long enough to attend both a commencement speech by pioneering racial scholar W.E.B. DuBois in 1924 and the inaugural address of Barack Obama in 2009, getting national publicity at the latter. She died at Judson Park on Monday, March 22, a month before the scheduled release of her autobiography from Penguin Books.

She was born Ella Mae Smith in Dallas, Texas. She never knew her father. Her mother died from tuberculosis. The next-door neighbors raised her, inspiring her life of helping others.

She married Elmer Cheeks, an electrical engineer with Municipal Light. Many years after his death, she married Raymond Johnson, a probation officer at Municipal Court.

On the side, she co-chaired Alpha Kappa Alpha's Job Corps Committee, which oversaw the federal Job Corps' local office, led by Zelma George. Among many awards, Johnson was named a "Diamond Diva" by the sorority at age 102.

She was also president of the Phillis Wheatley Association, a historic nonprofit for youths. She once knitted an afghan and sold it for $150 to cover repairs to the ladies' room there. The room became known as the Johnson john.

She retired in 1961 and boosted her travels. She ended up visiting 30 countries.

Johnson lived mostly in Cleveland and entered Judson at University Circle 35 years ago. She learned to drive at 70 and stopped at 80, no longer feeling safe.

She painted, made crafts and read widely, including the whole federal 9-11 report.

Last year, she braved a frigid inauguration for hours. "I saw Jesse Jackson, those tears streaming." She predicted a female president someday. "God wouldn't give African-American men what he wouldn't give to the women."

Mrs. Johnson was the beloved mother of James Cheeks (Mary Grace) of Manhattan, NY and Paul Cheeks (Sandra) of Atlanta, Ga.; step-mother of C. Wright Johnson; grandmother of five; great grandmother of four; aunt

Under the directions of: E. F. Boyd & Son Funeral Home

Viewing: 89th Street Chapel 2165 East 89th Street Cleveland, Ohio 44106

Wake and Funeral Service: Monday, March 29, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. Mt. Zion Congregational Church 10723 Magnolia Drive Cleveland, Ohio 44106

Interment: Lake View Cemetery 12316 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44106

Contributions can be made in her name to Our Church's Wider Mission, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115

Sources

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50074820/ella-mae-johnson