Obituaries

Lillie Mae Johnson

Mother Lillie Mae Johnson was born to Cleveland and Frances Hill Howard Dec. 20, 1916. Mae, as we affectionately referred to her, had three brothers, now deceased, Herman, John, and Cleveland and four sisters, of which 2 predeceased Mae, Emma Martin and Frances DeJesus.

Mae attended Southold and Greenport high schools. She was baptized at the age of 13 under the pastorship of the late Rev. William Turner. Mae was a member of Shiloh Baptist Church all her life except for a few years when she was a member of the Unity Baptist Church of Mattituck.

On Oct. 29, 1936, Mae was joined in holy matrimony to Carl Johnson. Of this union three children were born, Carl Jr. (deceased), Elizabeth Crutchfield of Coram and Kenneth Johnson of Detroit, Mich.  She is also the grandmother of four, great-grandmother of five and her first great-great-grandchild was born two days after her passing.

Mother Mae was a very loyal and dedicated member of the Shiloh Baptist Church.  She was a member of the choir for many, many years. Along with that service, she was president of the Missionaries, secretary of the Sunday School, primary class teacher and deaconess. Under the Pastorship of the Rev. Charles E. Hopson, she was made the official mother of the church.

Mother Mae is also the daughter of one of the founding members of Shiloh Baptist Church, Deacon Cleveland Howard. She has had the honor of being the longest living member of Shiloh. On Dec. 17, 2016, Mae celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by her extended family and many lifelong friends.

Mae loved her hobbies, which consisted of sewing, knitting, crocheting and crafts.  She was a member of the Greenport Homemakers and Peconic-Southold Senior Citizens Club, and also worked with the Girl Scout Brownies of America.

She was employed by the McCann family as a housekeeper along with her mother who was the head cook. After the McCanns she was employed at Eastern Long Island Hospital for many years.

Mother Mae was an excellent cook and made the best apple pies and cookies you’ve ever tasted.  She also kept the Communion set gleaming and the tablecloths sparking white for the church.

She was a very soft-spoken Christian lady who was always willing to lend a helping hand and always loved to be on the go.

Cherishing her memory today are her daughter Elizabeth Crutchfield (Preston); her son Kenneth (Garlene); four grandchildren; five Great Grandchildren; two sisters, Hazel Hobson of Riverhead and Margaret Jones of Macon, Ga, and a host of nieces, nephews, and additional extended family members and friends.

Wake services were held Jan. 22 at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold. Homegoing services were held Jan. 23 at Shiloh Baptist Church in Southold. Interment followed at Southold Presbyterian Cemetery.

This is a paid notice.