Richard "Dick" E. Johnson Jr.

Richard (Dick) E. Johnson Jr., 81, of Hendersonville, N.C., died Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013, at his home. He was born May 14, 1932, in Paterson, N.J. to the late Richard E. Johnson Sr. and Loretta R. Redmond Johnson. He was also preceded in death by his sister Joan M. Hoffmann.

Dick went to RCA College in New York City and served in the U.S. Air Force as a 1st Lieutenant in the 506th Air Refueling B-29 Squadron during the Korean War. After his military service, he resided in Deerfield Beach, Fla., where he met Mary E. Dobso and married her on Sept. 12, 1959, at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He owned and operated Pompano Business Machines in Pompano Beach, Fla., until 1970 when he sold his business and moved his family to Loveland, Colo. He was a real estate broker and developer in the Loveland area until his retirement in 2002. In 1984, Dick was ordained as a deacon in the Archdiocese of Denver and was assigned to St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Loveland. In 2002, he returned to Florida to be closer to his youngest grandchildren, and lived in Pembroke Pines until he and Mary decided to move to beautiful Hendersonville in 2007.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Johnson of Hendersonville, N.C.; children Kathryn A. Hantsbarger and her husband, David, of Loveland; Colleen A. Johnson of Leonardtown, Md.; Richard E. Johnson III of Tucson, Ariz.; and Stephen P. Johnson and his wife, Pamela, of Davie, Fla.; grandchildren Capt. Jonathan D. Hantsbarger, USAF, of Gulf Breeze, Fla.; Christa A. Hecker and her husband, Vincent, of Fort Collins, Colo.; Brendan A. Johnson of Davie, Fla.; and Dominic L. Johnson of Davie; as well as many nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Mass will be held Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Hendersonville. Reverend Robert Williams, OFM Cap., will celebrate the Mass. Interment will follow at the Western North Carolina Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain, N.C., with full military honors.

The family will receive friends Sunday evening from 6-8 p.m. at Thos. Shepard & Son Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Four Seasons Compassion for Life in memory of Dick Johnson, 571 South Allen Road, Flat Rock, NC 28731, or to the charity of your choice.