A Final Goodbye to a Great Lady
I am convinced that there is no college president in history like Dr. Johns. But if he was an original as president, Mrs. Martha was unparalleled as the First Lady.
As a kindergartener, I knew very little of Furman University. All I knew was that we cheered for the purple and white in football and basketball. And even at that young age, I viewed every game as a life-changing event.
Then came the day in 1976 when Dr. John E. Johns filled the pulpit at East Park Baptist Church, where my father just started as pastor. In grand Baptist tradition, Dr. Johns and his lovely wife Martha came to our house for lunch after church. These were the days when my mother put something in the crock pot or a roast in the oven for our family and any after-church guests.
If she were still alive, mom would likely remember what she cooked that day. My best guess is that mandarin orange salad and lemon pie were somehow involved. Beyond that, it was a source of immense pride for my parents that they were the first family to host John and Martha in their home after they began their tenure at Furman University.
My parents were not pretentious people. Dad pastored a small, dying church in downtown Greenville and mom ventured with him on every endeavor. Dr. Johns and Mrs. Martha, longtime members at FBC Greenville, had no reservations about visiting their church or their home.
Last Wednesday, my longtime supporter and friend Martha Johns passed away at the age of 97. I loved her husband and appreciated all that he did for me before, during, and after my career at Furman. He was a great man, certainly one-of-a-kind in the world of university presidents! But it was Mrs. Johns that carried our relationship to the next level.
Mrs. Martha ran into us at various points in our life, both before and after our return to Greenville. She knew that my wife and I both graduated from Furman; that our son was born while we were students; and that my wife Tracy graduated summa cum laude. She never said it, but I am pretty sure she knew that I graduated “Thank the Lord” from Furman.
She regularly remembered where we lived, how many children we had, and what church we served. And almost every time we ran into her, she commented about my mom and dad and that encounter at East Park Baptist followed by lunch at 406 Great Glen Road.
Our conversation inevitably ended with, “You know, your mom and dad were the first people to have us in their home when we came to Furman!” As much as this was a source of pride for my parents, it was an even greater feather in their cap that Mrs. Johns recalled and recanted that story on a regular basis.
Even after I entered academia, Mrs. Martha recalled where I was and what I was doing. She even recalled that my son started at Furman and would ask, “Now, where did he finish?”
We are no one special in the life and history of Furman University. There are much more significant donors, bigger contributors, and more impressive graduates. Yet we will always take pride and joy in the fact that the First Lady of Furman University knew us by name. And even remembered our children!
Martha Johns was an unimaginable treasure for a small, academically astute university in Greenville, SC. She stood with Furman through thick and thin, good and bad—including an ugly breakup with the Southern Baptists. Throughout this struggle, her grace and hospitality extended to everyone, including small church Baptist pastors and their families.
My mother’s last football game at Furman came on November 13, 2021. Ann LeGrand had an invitation to the President’s Box that day, which was good because it was unseasonably cool for a November day in Greenville. She settled in near a television in the box, where she was greeted by Dr. Elizabeth Davis and her all-time favorite player, Stanford Jennings.
But nothing could match her joy at seeing a counterpart in the seat across from her, Mrs. Martha Johns. I walked around and talked to people and visited friends while knowing that my mom was exactly where she wanted to be. By this point, both mom and Mrs. Martha were a bit forgetful and not quite up to par. And still, Mrs. Johns remembered that Ann and Spencer were the first people to host her and Dr. Johns after they came to Furman!
They reveled in their time together while watching a Furman victory. Mom passed away eight months later. But her last Furman football game was a joyous memory because, once again, Mrs. Johns was sitting with her.
It is hard to describe, without tears in my eyes, the debt of gratitude that I owe to John and Martha Johns. At times when others doubted us, they advocated for us. They believed in us. And I still believe that I had few fans in my life greater than Martha Johns.
These two were certainly one of a kind. Most people at Furman will not realize it, but we are all forever indebted to Martha and John for this University that we continue to love, and that continues to do great things.
Mrs. Martha would never expect any credit or tribute for her contributions to Furman. Even still, never let us forget what she and her husband did for this institution. And may we all recognize that the world would be a better place if we lived the graciousness demonstrated by Martha Johns.