Johnathon (Johnny) Robert Johnson, 23, of Richlands, NC passed away December 20, 2022 surrounded by family after a phenomenal amount of family and friends came to bid farewell to a legend. Johnny reached nirvana while his wife, mom, dad and aunt held his hands and gave him love during his journey. He is survived by his wife Heather Johnson, his mom Roni Darst, dad JB Darst, father Earl Johnson, seven brothers, Zachary Johnson, Jeffery Johnson, Wesley Johnson, Justin Johnson, Micha Johnson, Lil JB and Mikey Darst, a lot of aunts, uncles and even more cousins, some of which were like brothers and sisters.

Johnny came into this world by the grace of God. Our miracle baby. Having been blessed to witness the birth of this legend, I can tell you the moment he took his first breath we knew he would make a difference. He was destined to be the light in the hearts of many. Holding him in that little blanket and whispering the nickname my little Johnny in the delivery room (his mom didn't like it) I knew he was one of a kind. He would begin using the name Johnny as well as Big Bird, due to his staggering 6'4" height which seemed to happen overnight. Even that first time holding him I had trouble letting him go. As he grew he became the kid that always wanted to make people laugh, sometimes getting in trouble with the great lengths he’d go to just to put a smile on the faces around him. Never shy, he had no worries about what others thought of him because given time there’s not a soul that didn’t end up loving Johnny. He lead with love and sought nothing but peace and happiness. By his teens Johnny had already proven that friends didn’t exist, they were family too and he pushed hard for his family. He wanted people to go after their dreams and love each other and themselves. He refused to argue for long and being a man of peace he would simply walk away from those who continued. But make no mistake, when it came to his family, his wrath was just as powerful as his love and peace. But he detested anger and violence and it was rarely seen. A free spirit, Johnny was constantly learning about every spiritual aspect possible and in that he urged others to meditate, reconnect with nature and find peace within so we could all spread love and find our own paths to happiness through the universe. If you knew him and expressed a dream, no matter how crazy, he’d support you 100% along that road. For many Johnny was the light that lit their way. He was the glue that held so many together. Everything was better and brighter when he was around. The day that beautiful light left us to join the stars, so many showed up to say goodbye one last time, it was staggering. Johnny changed every soul he touched and the world is a little colder right now. He was always telling us nothings that serious or worth crying over, so we will dry our tears one day and try to hold onto the lessons he was sent to teach us. Always choose love and happiness over societal norms and other’s opinions. Treat each day like it’s your last and like you won’t get another chance to say what’s in your heart or chase your passion. Keep chasing your love, peace and dreams like it’s all just around the next corner. Don’t wait to get what and who you truly want because the right time is always right now. Happiness is everything and it means even more if it’s expressed with deep sarcasm. If something is too heavy and is bringing you down, release it and walk away because if it’s not worth fighting for it’s not worth your precious time. Time is all we have but we don’t have a clue how much we’ve been granted. Johnny found his soulmate and as happy as he was before her, she proved he could be happier. There was no mistaking the love in him for her and she is forever a part of our family. Having just a short while married their love was still deep enough that it’ll reach beyond the veil and across realms and into every life after this one. He absolutely loved family gatherings and was always wanting us all to get together and we will continue to do that but be better at it for him. Johnny was always seeking a higher knowledge and lead us all as far as he could. I have no doubt he’s pushing his luck in heaven too with his quick sarcasm but also making them laugh so much that he’s probably been promoted to sit next to the throne. His long legs gave him the habit of slowing down to let us catch up so I know he’s looking over his shoulder at us and he’ll be waiting so we have to work twice as hard as him to get there one day. He’ll be in the sky and all around us if we only look. He’ll be the most colorful sunsets and sunrises and he’ll be the random beam of light through the clouds. He’ll also be that giggle that erupts from our gut at the most inappropriate moments and the random rainstorm when we have something to do outdoors that he thinks we put too much importance in. Always the sarcastic joker who was so good at it, at times you’d have trouble knowing if he was serious or not. But after the rain he’ll also be the rainbow to tell us that we better not give up. The enormous amount of light and love he shared can’t be wasted. We must continue his goal of reaching a higher level, laughing and cutting up the whole way. Even though it won’t be as easy without his goofy laugh we miss so much, we can do it. We have to keep his memory alive as long as we are still on this earth. We can never let a single memory of him slip away because his beautiful nephew Kip, will need to learn all about the amazing uncle he has in heaven. Also so he’ll know it’s uncle Johnny messing with him if it ever rains on his outdoor birthday party. Johnnys brother Zach needs our support now more than ever. He’s feeling as though he’ll be lost in this unpredictable world without his brother. He’s now looking at raising sweet Kip to be a good man when he was supposed to have his big brother there to help guide him. So we have to make sure Zach knows that no matter what, we will step up for him when he finds himself unsure of what to do. Just like Johnny would have, we must pick him back up if he stumbles. Johnnys mom misses him more than she thought possible and though right now she isn’t sure how to carry on we will all continue to show her that if she too stumbles we will pick her up and bear hug her now. May even throw in a rub on the top of her head. All of his family feels shattered now but for Johnny we must pick up the pieces and hold each other together now. While lovingly insulting each other in Johnnys fashion of course. There’ll never be a time we don’t miss Johnny but he wouldn’t want us sad for long. We should actually mourn those who never experienced his light. There never has been and never will be another human like Johnny. He picked us up when we tripped while trying to reach his level. We have to pick each other up now. We better get this right because Big Bird is soaring higher than ever and we want to make him proud. We love you Johnny. Save us a spot. I’ll see you later buddy 

Love Aunt Mandy

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