Larry's obituary
Larry Alexander Johnson February 8, 1942 – March 23, 2023
Larry’s passing to the spirit world of God’s Heaven occurred on March 23, 2023 at the age of 81. Larry is survived by his wife of 9 years, Patricia Jane Morris Johnson. They were soulmates in this lifetime and in lifetimes past.
He is also survived by his daughter Alicia Henson (Scott) and his son Eric (Shanna). And he is survived by two grandsons, Daniel (Amber) and Pierce Henson, and two granddaughters, Ella and Annie Johnson, and by one great grandson, Teddy Henson. He is also survived by two younger brothers, Ricky and Chris, and by many nieces and nephews.
Larry was preceded in death by his parents Bob and Irene Alexander Johnson, his older brother Jimmy, and his former wife of 44 years, Joyce Gresham Johnson.
Larry lived a very happy life. As a child Larry and his older brother Jimmy raised chickens, had a gum ball/peanut vending machine business, sold greeting cards and flower/garden seeds, and they had a paper route. As a teen Larry washed dishes at a restaurant and then worked at a grocery store through his high school years. After graduation he worked at Eastern Airlines in Atlanta, then in the carpet industry, was an insurance agent and a security guard before opening his beloved PhotoVision Portrait Studio in Riverbend Mall at the age of 33. He closed PhotoVision after 37 successful years and retired at the age of 70.
Larry traveled to many exciting places. Jerusalem, Galilee, Capernaum, Caesarea, the Dead Sea, Qumran, Jericho, Tel Aviv, Florence, Rome, Turin, Venice, Paris, Cannes, London, Barbados, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Saint Martin, Saint Thomas, Grand Bahama, Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Tijuana, Las Vegas, Cape Kennedy, Disney World, and many other places. Larry cruised on the Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney cruise lines.
There were many memorable things that happened in Larry’s life. Larry and his children, Alicia and Eric, found the Roman Lion on the first day it was hidden after hearing the first clue. They won a thousand dollars. Half the money was spent on their first family vacation to Disney World which had just opened. Usually it took weeks before anyone could find the Roman Lion but it only took a day for the Johnsons.
Larry had a very close encounter with an unusual aircraft that was about 200 foot in diameter, flat on the bottom and rounded on top. It was covered with thousands of small lights except for a 50 foot diameter center black spot on the bottom. It was moving very slowly, at about 5 mph, just above the treetops directly over his head. It made no sound and did not move the air. It was seen by many in Rome that Sunday night of 4/9/1967 and reported in the Rome News and Atlanta newspapers.
Larry was also involved in two digs at Qumran next to the Dead Sea in Israel. He lived in Bethlehem and worked in the desert on his first dig. Then he lived in the desert in a tent at Qumran for his second dig. Those digs were sponsored by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. On this last dig a clay container about the size of a coconut that was full of holy anointing oil was found. It was believed to have been hidden away from the Romans in the first century to be used later to anoint the next king of Israel. This discovery made worldwide headlines and was written up in National Geographic.
Larry and three of his coworkers were invited by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Shlomo Goren, to visit with him in his home to discuss what had been found. It was an amazing three hour visit.
Larry went to Turin, Italy to see the burial cloth of Rabbi Yeshua (Jesus) with its full body, front and back, negative image. It was a life changing moment for Larry. This photographic image on linen predates the invention of photography by 1,792 years. This burial cloth of Jesus was recently re-dated using a new and more accurate testing method for linen cloths by microscopic X-ray and known sample comparisons to the time that Jesus lived in the first century.
Larry was fascinated by archaeology, astronomy, the micro world, photography, the afterlife, reincarnation, the Turin Shroud, and especially the historical Rabbi Yeshua (Jesus).
Larry’s words of wisdom for a happy and fulfilling life are simple. All You Need is Love. Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. Be a friend to every human being, regardless of their faith, race, or status in life. Be a good person. Enjoy your life. Be gentle, be kind, be compassionate, be generous, be patient. Treat all animals with kindness. Don’t hate. Don’t hold grudges. Forgive and move on. Don’t live in the past. Live in the now. Always have an open mind. Always seek the truth. Dream big. Expect your dreams to come true. Be positive. Listen to others. Be a fun person. Laugh. Be polite. Don’t curse. Don’t gossip. Be respectful of others. If you can’t say something good about someone you shouldn’t say anything at all. Smile. Be grateful. Don’t lie, steal or cheat. Always try to do the right thing. Cause no harm. Live in love.
Appreciate the incredible beauty of this wonderful planet we live on. Be amazed by the vastness of the universe. Be filled with wonder by the complexities of the small micro world. Be in awe of the possibility of life eternal.
It was Larry’s opinion that we are not our body, we are not our mind. But instead, we are an eternal spirit that will never grow old and will never die. Our bodies will die, but we will live on. There is no death. There are no dead. Life is eternal.