Beverley Johnson

Beverley Johnson, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, has passed away peacefully at her home after a long struggle with Alzheimer's.

For over 30 years prior to her retirement, Beverley taught in the Bradley County school system and served her community as a first grade teacher at Prospect Elementary. During her long tenure at Prospect, Beverley taught multiple generations of students with former pupils often requesting that their children be taught by Mrs. Johnson. She was also one of the first educators in the school system to teach English as a second language to newly arrived immigrant children. So loved by her students and their parents that many would arrive on Halloween from all over the area simply to trick-or-treat at Mrs. Johnson's door.

A graduate of the George Peabody College for Teachers, now a part of Vanderbilt University, Beverley was born and raised in Nashville. It was there that she met and married David C. Johnson and together they raised three children; Lauran Smith of Calhoun, Andrew Johnson of Mercer Island, WA, and the late Jennifer Sturgeon of Nashville. Eventually settling in Cleveland, Beverley taught full time while also managing a busy household and cooking exquisite dinner for her family on most nights. Her fried chicken, Sunday pot roast, and French Silk pie are legendary within the family. As was her coconut cake and egg nog, a Christmas holiday special.

Beverley was one of the rare people who age with grace and style and was frequently complimented on her clothing choices. A beautiful red head, she was always well dressed to leave the house for work or school or grocery shopping. A style that was surpassed only by her intelligence at quick wit. She never lost a game of Trivial Pursuit or forgot a name or birthday and was extremely well-read, a character trait she inherited from her father, the late Ed Fergerson, a former proof-reader for the Tennessean newspaper. Her late mother Alleen Elizabeth Fergerson worked at the Upper Room in Nashville, TN.

Beverley is survived by her husband David; her daughter Lauran, her son Andrew; her grandchildren Meghan Watters, Austen Smith, Hallie Belle Wiley, Savannah Carreno, Emma Sturgeon, and Grace Sturgeon; her great grandchildren Wally and Teddy Wiley and Beatrice Smith.

The service for Mrs. Beverley Johnson will be held on Sunday, at 3:00 PM at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church.

Visitation: Sunday December 15th, 2024 at 2:00 PM at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church.

Burial: On Monday December 16th, 2024 at the Greenwood Cemetery in Chattanooga, TN at Noon.