Henry Leon ôHankö Johnson, age 84, died Wednesday, October 23, 2007, at his residence in Columbus, MS. Funeral Services will be at 2:00 p.m., Friday, October 26, 2007, at Gunter & Peel Funeral Home Chapel, Columbus, MS, with Rev. Bo Bankston officiating. Burial will follow at Friendship Cemetery with full military honors. Visitation will be today, Thursday, October 25, 2007, from 5:00-8:00 p.m., at Gunter & Peel Funeral Home. Hank was born September 27, 1923, in West Point, MS, to the late John Henry and Lillie Belle Smallwood Johnson. He graduated from Ackerman High School, and The Citadel,The Military College of South Carolina. He enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1943. He served as a pilot and communications, and electronics officer in World War II in Alaska, England, The Philippines, and numerous U.S. Bases, including the Pentagon. He retired after 27 years from the Air Force as Lt. Colonel at Columbus Air Force Base in 1968. He then taught Air Force Junior ROTC at Caldwell High School for 19 1/2 years, retiring in 1988. He was a member of First United Methodist Church and attended Woodland Baptist Church. In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by his first wife, Irma Jean Johnson, and two brothers, James and John Johnson. He is survived by his wife Dama ôAnnö Johnson, Columbus, MS; son, Kim Johnson, Columbus, MS; daughter, Nancy Laxton, Paris, TN; step-sons, Jim Hunt, Melbourne, FL, Bill Hunt, Denver, CO; step-daughters, Trudy Grisham, Decatur, AL, Wanda McKnight, Denver, CO, Patricia Fulgham, Ackerman, MS; 2 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, 5 step- grandchildren and 5 stepgreat- grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Columbus Air Force Base Honor Guard. Honorary pallbearers will be O.D. Hagan, L.W. Kuhn, James Reeves, Dr. Jerry Jeffcoat, Dr. Brad Brown, Dr. Lance Busch, Dr. John Whitecar and Dr. Thomas Sheffield. Memorials may be to Baptist Memorial Hospice, P.O. Box 1307, Columbus, MS 39703, or the donor’s favorite charity.
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