"A Statesman': Former Rep. Terry Johnson Remembered

Former state Rep. Terry Johnson, D-Marietta, a self-described conservative Democrat who was respected on both sides of the political aisle, died Friday.

He was 74.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Mayes Ward Dobbins Funeral Home Macland Chapel in Powder Springs.

The family will receive friends from 10 to 11 a.m. prior to the service.

Born January 9, 1950, Johnson, a fifth-generation Marietta resident, was the youngest of five children who grew up in a house along Austell Road. As a boy, Johnson grew up with politics all around him, according to his son, Pat Johnson. When he was a kid, his aunt married the uncle of future Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, and the two regularly saw each other at family gatherings.

“We would always call ourselves ‘cuz,’ although technically … we were not,” Barnes said. “But, I’d known him all my life because of that connection.”

It was Barnes who encouraged him to enter politics, according to Johnson’s wife Nancy. Barnes told Johnson he was perfect for a position in the Georgia House.

“I knew that he would do well and he did,” Barnes said. “He’s the most even-tempered fellow I ever met. He would study issues out and he made friends quickly, (and) I knew that was a combination that would do him well in the General Assembly.”

Johnson was elected to the House District 37 seat in 2000. He served five terms before retiring in 2012 due to health concerns. During his time in office, Johnson focused on education improvement, economic development and health care. When Smyrna was included in his district, Johnson led the charge to adopt Smyrna’s Homestead and Exemption Act, which entices city residents to own their own homes by freezing tax assessments for a certain period of time.

State Rep. Don Parsons, R-north Cobb, described Johnson as a lawmaker who was respected on both sides of the Georgia House.

“He represented an area of good, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth people. And that’s the kind of person Terry was,” Parsons said.

Throughout his political career, he even convinced Republicans to cross party lines to support him, such as his lifelong friend Joe Daniell, former Vinings Bank executive vice president.

“(Johnson) was a statesman … whatever party he (was) in,” Daniell said. “He was just so supportive of whether it was Republican or Democrat. You could trust Terry Johnson.”

Barnes echoed those comments.

“I wish we had a whole county of Terry Johnsons,” Barnes said. “I think Terry will be remembered as the model for the kind of people that we need in the General Assembly.”

Johnson was a dedicated member of Milford Baptist Church where he served as a deacon and taught Sunday school.

Pat Johnson described his father’s faith as a motivating factor in his community service.

“(Faith) was the cornerstone, it was really important to him,” Nancy Johnson said.

Johnson attended Milford Elementary School and Osborne High School. During these years, he met his future wife, Nancy Johnson, who was also a student at Osborne. The high school sweethearts were married in 1972.

After obtaining real estate and broker licenses, Johnson started his own real estate business, Terry Johnson Realty, which he operated out of his Marietta home. Johnson served as a Realtor for the Marietta community for 51 years until his death. Nancy Johnson said her husband loved the challenge of the ever-changing industry.

“He just always had to be involved, he always had to serve,” said his younger son Brett Johnson.

Outside his professional and political life, Johnson had a passion for repairing antique cars like his Ford Falcon. He enjoyed working on Fords because his father was a former employee of the company.

Johnson was also an avid bike-rider. He loved riding his Peloton bicycle that he bought about a year ago, Pat Johnson said. According to Pat, his father even received a free T-shirt from Peloton for hitting the 100-mile marker. When biking outside his home, Johnson was a regular cyclist along the Silver Comet Trail, a railroad track that was converted into a walking and biking trail that stretches from Smyrna to Anniston, Alabama. Nancy Johnson said her husband was instrumental in the development of the trail.

Johnson’s family said he will be most remembered for his dedication to his community.

“He loved taking care of people, and he loved taking care of the institutions that gathered people together,” his son Brett Johnson said.

Johnson is survived by his wife of 52 years Nancy Johnson, sons Pat and Brett Johnson, sisters Mary Sanford and Sandra Perkins and numerous nieces and nephews.