Today we celebrate the life of our Daddy, Pop, Poppop, Orville "Chip" Johnson. He was the beloved father of Josie, Jaime, and Chris, who he proudly raised with beautiful Marion, his Muzz, who was the love of his life from the moment he laid eyes on her as a teenager, until he left this earth and stepped back into her arms on October 22, 2021, so they could celebrate his 96th birthday together.

Our Poppop was the Sunday caller, fishing partner, birthday card sender, article sharer, and chief storyteller to his grandchildren, Ried, Barton, Keeley, Kenny, and to his great-grandchildren Zach, Holden, Gavin, Izzy, Annabelle, Madeline, Drew, and Duncan. He was the adopted father and grandfather of Margo, Steven, Leigh, and Alex, who he teased and loved as if they were his own. We were awed by his stories and will tell our grandchildren and great-grandchildren the one about young Chip standing at a fence near his home in New Jersey on May 6, 1937 where he was witness to the historic explosion of the Hindenburg at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station.

Chip was the second youngest of 7 and is survived by his youngest sister, Verna Sprinkle, who will miss her brother's calls and birthday cards. He loved to chat with his siblings and kept up with many of his nieces and nephews, including visiting one of his nephews on a warship in Okinawa when he was there during World War II. Chip was very proud of his service in the United States Army Corps during World War II. He joined when he was 18 and served as a tail gunner until the war ended. When he returned home from World War II, he attended college and received his degree with the support of the GI Bill. Education was important to Chip, and he helped many students reach their educational goals by establishing the HC Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund in honor of his father, who was an elementary school principal.

Chip remembered so many of us, that his bank calendars just overflowed with birthday and anniversary reminders. Each year we all received a bank calendar of our own filled out with birthdays and anniversaries, along with a gentle reminder from him that family is what matters.

Don't worry, Pop, we will stay in touch.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to HC Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund in Jackson, New Jersey.

Cagle Funeral Home is honored to serve the Johnson family.