Cloyce Johnson (91) of Newton

Cloyce Johnson, 91, of Newton, Illinois, passed away at 11:20 AM Thursday, October 22, 2020 at Autumn Leaves of St. Charles, Illinois.

Funeral services will be held at 12:00 PM (Noon) Saturday, October 31, 2020, at the Meyer Funeral Home in Newton, Illinois, with Rev. Steve Willis officiating.  Burial will be in the Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Newton, Illinois.  Visitation will be held 1 hour before the service.  

Cloyce Lynn Johnson was born on September 3, 1929, in rural Jasper County, Illinois, the son of Dee and Viola (Meyer) Johnson.  He was the fourth of ten children.  The Johnson Family Farm, which was a few miles Southwest of Newton, was a classic, busy, working farm.  There were cows to milk, pigs to feed, eggs to gather, and other animals to care for.  Crops such as corn and soybeans were planted in the spring and harvested in the fall.  He attended grade school at the Long Swamp school in South Muddy Township.

When Cloyce got to Newton High School he badly wanted to play football but his dad thought that, since there was a lot of work on the farm, after school sports weren’t necessary.  Coach Chizevsky knew that he was strong and tough so he drove down to the farm and asked Dee if he would let Cloyce go out for football.  He was allowed to join the team his Junior year and immediately made an impact and was the captain his Senior year.  He was proud that the 1947, Eagles football squad was one of the best in school history.

After graduation from high school in the spring of 1948, he married Barbara “Bobbie” Weber and to this union two sons were born Larry and Tom.  After working construction at Norris Electric in Newton for several years, he was offered, and accepted a lineman position in Lawrenceville, there he worked many years.  In Lawrenceville, Cloyce and Bobbie developed many great friendships and were involved in many activities.  They loved to go dancing, eat at the Elks Club, and he spent time on the golf course and hunting.  It was hard to leave Lawrenceville, but good to get back to friends and family in Newton when he was asked to return to Newton to be a supervisor.  He finished his career in that job and retired with Bobbie at their lovely home with a swimming pool in Newton.  He continued to live there after Bobbie’s death until 2017, when because of memory problems, had to move to an assisted care facility in St. Charles, Illinois. 

Cloyce is survived by:Sons - Larry (Karen) Johnson and Tom (Crystal) Johnson. 4 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Siblings - Sister Ruth Hutchison, Lois Strole, Donald Johnson, Delain (Wilma) Johnson, Paul Johnson, Madonna (Lawrence) Klier, Zana (Kendall) Tarr and Cheryl (Bill) Dunn

Cloyce was preceded in death by his parents, wife, and sister Rita Pickens.

The obituary can be viewed and condolences left by clicking here.