Helen Nadine Johnson

Helen Nadine Johnson, 93, passed away on November 18, 2012 at Northeast Georgia Hospital after undergoing an operation and the start of therapy for a broken hip. Mrs. Johnson was born on May 29, 1919 in Helen Georgia to Arthur Lee Dye and Winifred Mitchell Dye. She was the fifth of eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Dye, and the first of the children to be born in Helen. Mr. and Mrs. Dye had moved the family to Helen from West Virginia where Mr. Dye worked for Morris Brothers Lumber Company. It is rumored in the family as a child; she skipped school on April Fool’s Day along with some others and was punished by washing all the windows in the Nacoochee Valley School. She shocked her Grandkids when she told them about going skinny dipping in the Chattahoochee River in Helen as a child. In 1938 the Dyes moved to Newnan, Georgia where Nadine graduated from Newnan High School in 1939 along with her future husband George Edward “Ed” Johnson whom she met at the Senior Class Picnic. They were married on April 17, 1943 in South Carolina while Ed was in the Army at Fort Gordon, Augusta, Georgia during World War II. She followed Ed as he moved around to different Army Camps. She always found a job selling shoes in stores located in Chicago, Illinois; Pittsburg, California; Trenton, New Jersey and Battle Creek, Michigan. Nadine and Ed were members of the First United Methodist in Newnan, Georgia where their son and daughter were born. In 1958 they moved the family to Albany, Georgia and were members of the Porterfield United Methodist Church. Then in 1962 they moved to Gainesville, Georgia where they joined St. Paul United Church where they have been members for the past 50 years. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Johnson is preceded in death by her brothers, Charles Donald "Jack" Dye, Garnet Lee Dye, Kermit Andrew Dye, and sisters, Dorothy Mitchell Parsons, Geraldine Carlisle and Iris Smith. She is survived by her husband George Edward “Ed” Johnson of Gainesville, Georgia; son George Edward Johnson, Jr and wife Mary Dixon Johnson of Hoschton, Georgia; daughter Helen Johnson Elliott and husband Danny Silas Elliott of Gainesville, Georgia; brother, Arthur Hugh "Buster" Dye of Newnan, Georgia; sister-in-law, Willene Johnson Williams of Newnan, Georgia; grandchildren Christopher Elliott and wife Kara Elliott of Flowery Branch, Georgia; Amanda Johnson of Atlanta, Georgia; Shanna du Mont and husband Justin du Mont of Mobile, Alabama; Lindsay Mahoney and husband Ryan Mahoney of Marietta, Georgia; Mary Elliott of Warner Robbins, Georgia; stepdaughter Kimberly Reignier of Flowery Branch, Georgia; step granddaughters Sydney Roach and Mackenzie Reignier of Flowery Branch; great grandchildren Andrew Elliott of Gainesville; Corinne du Mont and Natalie du Mont of Mobile; Ava Elliott of Flowery Branch; and Allison Mahoney of Marietta. Condolences can be expressed online at www.mckoon.com.

Helen Nadine Johnson

May 29, 1919 - November 18, 2012