Edward Francis Johnson, Jr.

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Edward Francis Johnson Jr.  passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on February 19, 2021. Ed was born on September 1,1931 in Chicago, IL to Edward and Eloise Sevy Johnson. He attended South Shore High School in Chicago where he made incredible friendships that lasted his entire lifetime.

He met the love of his life, Bernadette Fallon at Rainbow Beach, on the south side when he was 18. Friends recall that he knew immediately that Bernadette would be the girl he would someday marry. That happy day came four years later, July 31, 1954 at the Our Lady of Victory Chapel at the Naval station in Norfolk, VA. Ed and Bernadette were an amazing couple and soon developed a wonderful family of four children.

During this time, Ed worked two jobs while attending DePaul University, while Bernadette ran the household. After graduating with a degree in accounting, Ed found a job in sales at Paslode Corporation. It soon became clear that sales was a perfect fit for Ed’s engaging personality. He quickly established himself as Paslode’s top producer. Numerous promotions followed which took the young family from their Chicago home to Bloomfield Hills, MI, and then Bay Village, OH.

While Ed loved sales, he soon found that he was equally passionate about teaching salespeople how to approach their profession most effectively. He taught “Techniques of Persuasion” at Northwestern University while still in Chicago. Later, in 1973 when Ed and Bernadette opted for a sunnier climate, the couple decided to move to Dallas where together they established EF Johnson & Associates, a sales training and consulting company. This dynamic new company racked up one Fortune 500 client after another over a span of three decades as well as clients in Canada and Europe. Ed was a phenomenal teacher and his “Neutral Approach” literally changed lives for his client-students.

Ed was also an amazing storyteller. He created characters and storylines that left indelible images that live on in the imaginations of his children and grandchildren. In recent years he became a writer and he put his wonderful stories into print. Ed had incredible unique relationships with his grandchildren. He invested the time to genuinely know and appreciate each of them and remained consistently engaged in their lives. Ed had an amazing ability to connect in a very individual way with everyone he encountered. People felt special after a conversation with Ed Johnson.

Ed was a convert to Catholicism and was truly devoted to his faith. He was an advocate of Catholic education and all four children attended Catholic elementary and high schools. He became active in communities at St. Monica, St. Rita, Ursuline Academy, Jesuit Preparatory School and Cistercian Preparatory School. He was a lector at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and served as President of the North Central Dallas Serra club from 1994-95 and was a member of the Knights of Columbus.

In the fall of 2017, Ed and Bernadette moved to The Tradition on Lovers Lane. He loved his new friends there, as well as his special caregivers, Alyce Rouwtt and Erma Darensburg.

Ed was preceded in death by his loving and beautiful wife, Bernadette, his parents, Edward and Eloise Sevy Johnson, his sister, Patricia L.C. Stevenson and his daughter in-law, Cathy Noonan Johnson.

He is survived by his four children: Michelle O'Reilly (John) of Carlsbad, CA; David Johnson (Susan) of Dallas, TX; Renee Rhyner of Dallas, TX and Edward Johnson III of Atlanta, GA and eight grandchildren: Jordan Rhyner of Dallas, TX, Luke Johnson (Tessa) of Los Angeles, CA, Fallon Johnson of Dallas, TX, Abigail Johnson of Atlanta, GA, Caroline Johnson of Atlanta, GA, Edward Johnson IV of Atlanta, GA, Ryan Johnson of Atlanta, GA and Shea O'Reilly of Carlsbad, CA.

A funeral mass for Ed will be held on Friday, March 19th at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church at 2700 West Spring Creek Parkway in Plano at 3:00. For those unable to attend, the mass will be live streamed at https://youtu.be/mvVaKWTIAm0

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America http://support.mymsaa.org/goto/EdwardFrancisJohnson or 800-532-7667.

The Family wishes to share his memorial tribute video at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LitdoiEEZztYHiDPAfA0SDb6ixkPY68b/view?usp=sharing