Charles Ray Johnson Sr.'s Obituary
Dr. Charles Ray Johnson Sr. was born on October 4, 1932, in Belton, Texas, to Olvie Campbell Johnson and Hazel Louise Hemphill. He was a standout defensive back for the Temple Wildcats from 1946–49. In 1951, he enlisted in the Navy during the Korean conflict and served as a radioman in the submarine service until his honorable discharge in 1953.
He pursued a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at the University of Texas and married Betty Loraine McCollum on December 2nd, 1956. In 1959, they moved to Garland, Texas, where he began working at LTV on missile guidance systems. In 1968, he started postgraduate studies and employment at Texas Instruments. He received his PhD in Statistics from Southern Methodist University in 1972.
From 1974 to 1983, he was Chief Systems Engineer on the Global Positioning System at Texas Instruments, co-authoring eight GPS patents and thirteen papers. He left the GPS field in 1983, later returning in 2002 as a business consultant for NAVSYS Corporation. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he served as Sunday School Director at Calvary Baptist Church in Garland and coached numerous soccer teams. His three children survive him—Charles Ray Johnson Jr., Steven Homer Johnson, and Jackie Johnson Wynne—four grandchildren—Lauren Elisse Johnson, Stefany Lorraine Johnson, Jefferson Dean (Jake) Hansen, and Luke Ryan Johnson—and two great-grandchildren, Alice Moira Lynn Smith and Elijah Dean Hansen. -Nanny & Papa are together again.
Service 12-16-25
Wildwood Chapel 2pm
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