William Thomas "Slim" Johnson Jr.

William Thomas “Slim” Johnson Jr., age 77, of Cochran, Georgia, died Monday afternoon March 14, 2016 at a hospice facility in Rossville, GA. Memorial service for “Slim” Johnson will be held Saturday morning at 10:30 am at Mount Calvary Baptist Church, 134 Abney Road, Cochran, Georgia. Brother Bob Price and Rev. Lane Collins will officiate the memorial service. Visitation will be held immediately following the service.
“Slim” was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee on November 2, 1938 to his parents William Thomas Johnson, Sr and Tilda Maddox Johnson. He lived in Lawrenceburg throughout his childhood. He then moved to Chattanooga as a young man and started a concession business where he worked for 25 years. He changed careers and founded the Community Kitchen, a non-profit organization who met the needs of Chattanooga’s homeless. He started by feeding the homeless out of the back of his truck and ended up with a facility that covered one city block and included job placement, medical, beds, clothing outreach, a section that taught people to get their GED and the cafeteria for feeding the homeless.
He then moved to Dalton, Georgia started back into the concession business along with working in the Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce. He loved people and never met a stranger. He moved to Perry, Georgia and continued with his concession business. He sold his concession business to a large corporation and became a school nutrition manager with Houston County Schools so that he could have more time with his youngest child. He retired from Houston County 2010. In the last year of his life he started back up in the concession business and had the time of his life. He just could not get it out of his blood.
Survivors include a son William Thomas Johnson III of Chattanooga, and two daughters Sharon Johnson Smith of Chattanooga and Angelynn Elizabeth Johnson of Cochran, Ga; a step-brother Buddy Downey of Gulfport, Fla; seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren
Memorials preferred to Chattanooga Community Kitchen, P.O. Box 11203, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401