Obituary of Sonya L. Johnson

Sonya L. Johnson, 90, of Erie, PA, formerly of Jamestown, NY, went to be with the Lord on October 28, 2022, at Elmwood Gardens, Erie. She was born Feb. 10, 1932 in Jamestown, the daughter of the late Walter and Edna Seagren Swanson. Sonya was a 1949 graduate of Jamestown High School and married the love of her life, Donald C. Johnson, on Dec. 5, 1952. She worked at Art Metal for about 15 years as a secretary and then secretary to the vice president, but even though she was offered the position of secretary to the president, she decided to retire and become a full-time homemaker. Sonya was a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandma and friend who saw the beauty in everything and the best in everyone. She loved Jesus, her family, and her many close friends and neighbors. She was a member of Zion Covenant Church and enjoyed helping decorate the church for Christmas and being in Bible studies and Supper Club with other church members. She also attended First Alliance Church in Erie. Sonya loved to go out for meals or coffee and a visit with her many wonderful friends. She remained life long friends with her former coworkers "The Art Metal Girls" who met monthly for lunch for almost 60 years. Sonya was a great cook and seamstress, but her preferred interests were birds, animals, flowers, music, studying the Bible, decorating and watching TV. One of her favorite places was the library and reading was definitely her favorite pastime. An avid reader, she would stay up late to finish 1-2 books almost every single day because she "just couldn't put it down." Sonya will be very deeply missed and is survived by her daughter, Sheila Ley (Jeff) and grandson Zachary Ley, who were her 3 caregivers for many years and with whom she lived in Erie. She cherished her relationships with the rest of her family as well and is also survived by her sister, Sally Stohl (Clark) of Lakewood, NY, nephew Chris Stohl (Amy) and niece Julie Johnson (Todd) all of Snyder, NY, niece Holly (Brad) Crisci of Tampa, FL, and 6 great nieces and nephews. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Don in 2015, her brothers Eldon "Al" Swanson and Tom Swanson, and a niece Diana "Debbie" Swanson-Basile. Friends will be received from 12-2 pm Saturday, Nov. 5 in the Lind Funeral Home in Jamestown. The funeral will be at 4pm on Sunday Nov. 6 at Lind's, with Pastor Scott Shuffield of FAC officiating, and friends will also be received for one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will be private in Lakeview Cemetery. Memorials may be made to First Alliance Church, 2939 Zimmerly Rd, Erie, PA 16506, or to Zion Covenant Church, 520 Fairmount Ave., Jamestown, NY, 14701. You may leave words of condolence at www.lindfuneralhome.com.