Mary Ella Suter Johnson, 97, died January 3, 2010 at Hospice Atlanta. Daughter of Mary Emma and Jacob Ward Suter, she was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1912. Growing up, she lived around the country before her family settled in Birmingham, Alabama. She attended Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio and graduated from Birmingham Southern. After graduation, she went to Emory University, receiving a Masters of Library Science in 1937. She worked for the Birmingham Public Library, but left to marry the love of her life, John Andrew Johnson, in 1939. Their married life began in Mississippi, but John's career with the Soil Conservation Service took them to Spartanburg, South Carolina, Princeton, West Virginia and Morgantown, West Virginia. They retired to Decatur, Alabama in 1973. John died in 1997 and a year later she moved to Atlanta, living at KingsBridge. She loved rooting for the Braves and University of Alabama football, shopping for and wearing lovely clothes, her Sunday school class at First Baptist of Decatur and spending time at the family cottage at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. She is survived by daughter, Beth Withers and son-in-law Ron Withers of Tucker, Georgia; daughter, Chris Wolf and son-in-law Jeff Wolf of Greensboro, North Carolina; grandson, Jon Wolf of Raleigh, North Carolina; granddaughter, Katie Wolf of Greensboro, North Carolina; sister-in-law, Virginia Crenshaw of Decatur, Alabama; and numerous nieces and nephews. The family thanks the staff of KingsBridge, Hospice Atlanta and her two amazing caregivers, Gladys Milburn and Jo Ann Pope. Funeral services will be held in the First Baptist Church of Decatur, Thursday, January 7th at 11 a.m. with Dr. William Neal officiating. Burial will be in Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, AL on Saturday, January 9 at 11 a.m. CST. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice Atlanta. 1244 Park Vista Dr., NE. Atlanta, GA 30319, the American Heart Association or First Baptist Church of Decatur, Georgia would be appreciated. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, January 6th at A. S. Turner & Sons.
