William Peyton Johnson Sr.

Published 12:01 am Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Sept. 9, 1948 – Jan. 30, 2016

NATCHEZ — Services for William Peyton “Billy” Johnson Sr., 67, who died Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, in Vidalia, will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at First Presbyterian Church.

A graveside service will follow at 3 p.m. at Parkway Cemetery in Kosciusko under the direction of Southern Funeral Home in Lexington.

Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until service time Wednesday at Stratton Chapel in Natchez.

Mr. Johnson was born Sept. 9, 1948, in Holmes County, the son of Thurlow Peyton Johnson and Maureen Merideth Johnson.

He worked in the family petroleum business and started a number of his own entrepreneurial endeavors in his hometown of Tchula.

Billy spent his youth enjoying the pleasures of rural life and was known for his intelligence, wit and charisma. He was called to the ministry and attended Reformed Theological Seminary in Clinton from 1995 to 1996. He was ordained in the Presbyterian church in America.

He served as the minister of Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church in Natchez for nearly a decade. In recent years, Billy shared his gift of observation, humor and analytical thought through his numerous writings inspired by his hometown and his deep faith.

Mr. Johnson was preceded in death by his wife of 40 years, Harriet Ann Buchanan Johnson.

Survivors include five children, Peyton Frances Johnson-Collins, William Peyton Johnson Jr., Maureen “Maura” Merideth Johnson, Susanna Margaret Johnson-Sharp and Robert Buchanan Johnson; one sister, Jean Johnson Aldridge; one aunt, Pauline Johnson; and seven grandchildren.