Obituary of Earl R. Johnson

Earl R. "Ray" Johnson, 79, died Monday, August 1, 2011 surrounded by family at his home in Jamestown following a 5 year battle with cancer. He was born October 29, 1931 in Jamestown and was the son of the late Merle and Winifred Johnson. A woodworker, Earl retired from Jamestown Plywood after 23 years of service. He had formerly been employed by the Art Metal Corp., Yorktown Industries and Automatic Voting Machine. He enjoyed classic and antique automobiles, 'garage saling', and building anything in his woodworking shop. Earl loved slow dancing with his wife, as well as children and grandchildren. In addition to his wife, Angeline Scarpino Johnson, whom he married May 1, 1952, surviving are five children: Ray (Denise) Johnson of Ashville, Sharon (Bill ) McArthur of Jamestown, Rodney Johnson of Lakewood, Randy (Kim) Johnson of Las Vegas and Sylvia (Dan) Magara of Jamestown; 12 grandchildren: Ray (Zulma) Johnson and Ron Johnson, both of Ashville, Misty (Jerrod) Becker, Bill (Anna) McArthur, Mindy McArthur and Renee (Jeff) Mitchener, all of Jamestown, Melissa (Michael) Winderl of Fredericksburg, VA, Randy (Patricia) Johnson of Burlington, NC, Rodney Johnson of Lakewood, Michael (Jenna) Johnson and Ryan Johnson, both of Las Vegas, and Tyler Johnson of Ashville; and 21 great-grandchildren. The funeral will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday in the Lind Funeral Home. The Rev. Deacon Cathy Smith, Hospice Chaplain, will officiate. Burial will be in Sunset Hill Cemetery. Friends will be received from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice Chautauqua County, 20 W. Fairmount Ave., Lakewood, NY 14750; or to the American Diabetes Assoc., 315 Alberta Drive, Suite 102, Amherst, NY 14226.