Jerilynn S. Johnson

September 27, 2024

Jerilynn S. Johnson, 82, of the Benton Twp. area, died early Friday morning at home after an illness.

Daughter of the late Richard M. and Romayne Colvin Jordan, she was born in Scranton and grew up in Jordan Hollow (East Benton) area. After graduating from Scott High in Scott Twp., she attended an airline school in Kansas, then briefly worked in Chicago. Shortly after returning home from Chicago, she married her first husband, Richard (Dick) Edwards and became a full time mother and homemaker. Tragically, he died in early 1974. Years later, she married her second husband, Leslie Johnson, who died in 2008.

During her lifetime, she was known as a caring and giving person who opened her home to all, especially all the children she helped take care and watch in her “daycare” for numerous relatives and friends. A fantastic cook, no one left her house hungry, even taking leftovers for future meals.

She is survived by her three sons, Richard, Scott and Jeff Edwards; three stepsons, Doug (Judy), Dave (Debbie) and Dennis (Kim); 10 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren; a sister, Gayle Demming; as well as several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by an infant sister, Flora Jean; and sister, Carolyn Yurkanin Matala.

All services will be private at the convenience of the family. Arrangements by Lawrence A. Gabriel Funeral Home and Cremation Services Inc., 74 N. Main St., Carbondale, under the direction of Andrew A. Yurkanin Jr., funeral director.

To offer an online condolence, visit the funeral home’s website.