James Keith Johnson

James Keith Johnson


James “Jimmy” Keith (CHIEF) Johnson passed away on Friday, September 5 at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach with his family at his bedside. Charming and gregarious, Jimmy had the gift of making people feel special and much of his life was devoted to helping those burdened by the disease of alcoholism and addiction.
Born February 15, 1939, in Warrenton, Georgia, Jimmy excelled in sports and was a lineman on the football team at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. He subsequently transferred to the University of Georgia where he graduated and attended the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, where he earned his Masters Degree in Hospital Administration. After a residency at a Tampa hospital, Jimmy moved to Palm Beach County where in 1966 he was named head of JFK Hospital in Atlantis. He was, at age 27, the youngest hospital administrator in America. During his tenure, several new patient services were introduced that at the time were considered cutting edge. This included the first ER doctor in Palm Beach County, a heart transplant center, hospice ward, and alcohol and addiction recovery unit. Jimmy spent 20-plus years at JFK Hospital but his true calling and greatest passion was touching the lives of those struggling with sobriety. A recovering alcoholic, he was fond of saying, “It’s not alcoholism, it’s humanism.” As a result, he worked for several treatment centers in the area. At the time of his death he was a consultant at The Treatment Center of the Palm Beaches and prior to that was a frequent lecturer at what’s now called the Hanley Center in West Palm Beach. Most often he’d be outside the rooms of twelve-step meetings going one-on-one with individuals who were trying to reconcile life’s conflicts.
He met his wife-to-be at a social function hosted by the president of Furman University in 1958, a young woman named Jayne Ellen Davis who was a majorette in the marching band. After a four-year courtship they were wed, and they remained each other’s best friend and constant companion through 52 years of the “better and worse” that marriage vows tell us to expect. Jimmy was preceded in death by his mother Margie Lucille Huff Johnson, father C.F. Johnson Sr., daughter Christi Johnson Stewart, and granddaughter Camran. Beside his wife he leaves a daughter Jayme Golden, son-in-law Jeff Golden, grandchildren Jayce and Jordyn, brothers Terry Marvin Johnson (Virginia “Honey”) of Warrenton, Georgia and Dr. C.F. Johnson Jr. (Donna) of North Augusta, SC and many loving nephews and nieces.
A Celebration of Life for Jimmy Johnson will be held at 2:00pm on Sunday, September 14, at Johnson United Methodist Church, burial to follow at Johnson Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to either St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 100 N. Palmway, Lake Worth, FL, 33460 or to the Johnson Cemetery, Att: Mr. Joe Shurley, 642 Shurley Road, Warrenton, GA 30828. The family will receive friends at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Terry Johnson Johnson Rd. Warrenton, GA following the service.
Please visit www.lowefuneralhomes.net to sign the online guestbook.
LOWE FUNERAL HOME 77. W. GIBSON STREET WARRENTON, GEORGIA 30828 (706) 465-3333

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