Karita Johnson

Karita Johnson, age 96, of Georgetown, passed away peacefully at her home on December 13th, 2025.

Karita was born on September 4th, 1929, in Lincoln County, TN. While attending Boonshill High School, she met the love of her life, Hilton, and the couple graduated together in 1947. After high school, while attending Nashville Business College, she returned home to care for her father and younger sister after the death of her mother. She married Hilton on December 30, 1949. In addition to being a wonderful wife and mother, Karita also enjoyed a stable 40-year career in banking, eventually retiring as a loan officer from First Tennessee Bank in Chattanooga. In retirement, she excelled as a homemaker while cooking delicious southern comfort meals. Her prowess in the kitchen included baking sweet treats and canning or freezing each season's bounty from the family's garden and fruit trees. Many evenings and weekends were spent watching sports and working crossword puzzles in her free time. She was also a long-time member of Brittsville Baptist Church, where she enjoyed teaching children's Sunday school classes.

Karita was preceded in death by her loving husband of 75 years, Hilton Johnson; parents Harvey Lee and Bessie Coble Smith; as well as all of her siblings: Wilma Brewer, Everett Smith, Elise King, Darleen Guider, Wayne Smith, Joyce Mitchell, and Alice Wells.

Karita is survived by her daughter Diane (Mike) Waldo of El Paso, TX, and son Mark (Tonia) Johnson of Ten Mile, TN. She was also the proud grandmother of four: Kevin (Amy) Brown, Olivia Johnson, Aaron Johnson, and Madylin Johnson, as well as two great-grandchildren: Kendall and Lincoln Brown, along with several nieces and nephews that held a special place in her heart. She is also survived by several special friends, including N.C. and Betty Cartwright, Bill and Elizabeth Leamon, Butch and Debby Edgemon, Bud and Judy Everett, Christy Lawson, and her precious caregiver, Dorenda Blankenship.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, December 18, 2025, in the chapel of Decatur Funeral Home & Cremation Services with Rev. Johnny Jones and Rev. Ken Purdie officiating. Interment will follow in the Johnston Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Mark Johnson, Aaron Johnson, Kevin Brown, Butch Edgemon, Daniel Dayton, and William Hogan. Honorary pallbearers will be N.C. Cartwright and Bud Everett.

The family will receive friends from 12 noon - 2 p.m., prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Johnston Cemetery (3639 Lower River Road NW, Georgetown, TN, 37336) or Meigs County Ministries (18364 Hwy-58, Decatur, TN, 37322).

Decatur Funeral Home & Cremation Services is honored to serve the Johnson Family.