Vertis Mae Johnson

Vertis Mae Johnson was born in Cleveland, Mississippi, on September 29, 1934. 

Although much is unknown about her childhood, Vertis spent most of her adult life in Kansas City, KS. With a blue-collar work ethic and a heart for people, she spent most of her life in the service and healthcare industries. She proudly spent most of the 1970s as a nurse’s assistant at Douglass Hospital, the first African-American hospital west of the Mississippi River. After Douglass shut its doors in the late 1970s, Vertis spent a short time as a cook for Kansas City Kansas Public Schools.

Vertis wanted to return to healthcare, so she received her Clinical Nursing Assistant Certificate. She would stay in the health field until retirement, serving at Providence Nursing Home and several families as a Home Healthcare worker until her retirement.

Vertis loved the Lord and loved serving Him. For decades, Vertis was an active member of Rising Star Baptist Church and served as the church secretary during her attendance. She would speak fondly of her time there and the relationships that she held dear. Later, she would join her daughter, Jackie, at Living Word Church and happily serve as a member of the motherboard.

After retirement, Vertis lived a quiet life. She enjoyed sitting on her porch waving at neighbors, watching her “stories,” westerns and basketball, and going on long car rides with her daughters. Most of all, Vertis loved having her family close, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The Lord called Vertis home on November 3, 2023.

Vertis is survived by: Her siblings, Wilbert Wheeler, Pearl Wheeler Coleman, Evelyn Wheeler Sutton, Idella Wheeler, and Isaiah Wheeler; Her children, Jacqueline Williams, Wendell Johnson, Phyllis Johnson, Pamela Johnson (James); Her grandchildren, Tina Jumper, Darryle Jumper Jr. (Alisha), Christopher Washington, Michael Williams, Bryon K. Williams (Lindsay), Jermaine Williams (Sabrina), Jamel Johnson, Qwan Johnson, Asia Johnson;18 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

She reunites in heaven with her parents, Mary Lee Harris, Earnest Aron Johnson, and Bessie Collins; her siblings, J.C. Wheeler, Leroy Wheeler, Huey Wheeler, David Wheeler, and Charles Wheeler, her daughter, Vanessa Washington; her grandson Shawn Johnson, and her great-grandson Romello Shipman.

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