Janis (Jan) Maples Johnsson entered eternal life on Oct. 24.
Ms. Johnsson spent 30 years in ministry to the Catholic Church in education and at the parish level. She served at both Knoxville Catholic High School and St. Joseph School.
In the last decade of her work life, she worked for “the nicest man I’ve ever known,” Dr. Jim Pickering.
She would quickly tell you that her greatest joy and that for which she was most proud were her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, her son-in-law and daughter-in-law, whom she counted as her own, her big brother, Greg, and her nieces and nephew.
She felt privileged to enjoy the friendship of her “sisters,” Aurelia Montgomery, Jamie Hanson, and Dawn Harbin, and she delighted in all her friends at Pickering and Allen Orthodontics.
She logged hundreds of miles with her Lakeshore Park buddies, especially Judy, for whom she was very grateful. She spoke often, with great fondness, for all the people who extended prayers, care, and concern during her cancer journey, including her cathedral buddies, especially Libby, Jane, and Dottie, her neighbor Kathryn, and her dear friends, Henry and Alice. Father John Orr was a source of strength on whom she relied more than he knew.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lois Newman Maples and Paul Theodore Maples, her maternal and paternal grandparents, sister-in-law Sylvia Maples, and nephew Jacob Maples.
She is survived by her children, Kelly (Michael) Lay and Justin (Jeni Hollon) Manies; grandsons Jordan (Alisa) Lay, Noah Lay, and Eli Manies; great-grandchildren Rebecca Lay and Jonathan Lay; her brother, Greg Maples; and several nieces and a nephew.
A funeral Mass for Ms. Johnsson was celebrated on Oct. 31 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with Father Orr serving as the celebrant. Inurnment followed the funeral Mass in the cathedral columbarium.
Contributions in Ms. Johnsson’s memory may be made to Knoxville Catholic High School or the University of Tennessee Cancer Institute.
