Carolyn Rae Johnson

Carolyn Rae Johnson of Cibolo, Texas passed away peacefully on the morning of June 16, 2024, at the home of her son and daughter-in-law Jerry and Carrie Johnson in Cibolo, TX. She was surrounded by Jerry and Carrie as well as two of her grandsons Bradley and Thomas Johnson and niece Katy Bressette. Carolyn had been on Hospice comfort care since May 14.

Carolyn was born on December 17, 1946, in Duluth, Minnesota to mother Almeda and Father Elmer Swanson. She grew up in Duluth for the entirety of her formative years until the early 1960’s when she met her eventual husband Gerald Johnson of Cloquet, Minnesota about 20 miles south of Duluth. Carolyn and Gerald were married on November 28, 1964, in Duluth, after he had completed United States Coast Guard basic training in Cape May, New Jersey, and almost immediately set off on a twenty-five-year journey moving around the country with the Coast Guard, retiring in 1990. Together they built what became known as ‘Johnson’s Camp’ for their grandchildren on three acres of property in Cassatt, out in the country from Camden. In early 2015 they moved into Camden and lived in the Fox Run apartment complex. Gerald passed away on April 3, 2023, at home in Fox Run, and Carolyn moved to Texas last November to be closer to her immediate family.

Carolyn completed high school in June 1981 via the Anne Arundel County, Maryland adult education program and in the late 1980’s attended Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, graduating in May 1989 with an Associate of Arts in Office Administration degree. In South Carolina she worked as an activities coordinator for Springdale Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, employed from 1997-2003 and as a volunteer for several years after that. In Camden, Carolyn was tireless in her efforts working for the Council on the Aging, Breast Cancer Awareness, Relay for Life, and assorted other volunteer efforts for seniors. In 2014 she was recognized as the volunteer of the year for the State of South Carolina. She was a skilled craftswoman who used her skills in sewing, knitting and crocheting, and decorating in her activities work as well as to make things for her own home. Carolyn was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Camden.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years Gerald, a half-sister Marge and half-brother George from Duluth, Minnesota, as well as both of her parents. She is survived by her three children Jerry (Carrie) Johnson, Deanna (Craig) Claybaugh, and Joel Johnson. Carolyn has seven grandsons, Chad (Beth) Claybaugh, Bradley (Marisol) Johnson, Trent Claybaugh, Jeremy Johnson, Thomas Johnson, James Johnson, Zachary Johnson, and one great-granddaughter Naomi Claybaugh. Memorial arrangements are pending, with a service likely in November in conjunction with the interning of her and Gerald’s ashes at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.