Obituary of Gary T. Johnson

January 15, 1968 was a clear, crisp morning in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. On this day, William Winder and Annette Johnson brought forth a true future Eagles fan. It was that day, that moment when their son – Gary Timothy Johnson was born. Sadly, his journey ended on Wednesday, February 19, 2020. Gary was a fighter to the very end. With his loving family by his side, his lengthy battle with his illness ended. A son, father, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend – Gary was adored by all who had the pleasure of knowing him, whether for a moment or a lifetime. Gary accepted Christ at the tender young age of 7 at Deliverance Evangelistic Church of Philadelphia. More recently, Gary began attending True Light Fellowship Church where his beloved grandfather “Doc Charles” worshipped. Gary was educated in the Philadelphia Parochial and Public School System. He was known for being an excellent football player during his high school years. He was also gifted and talented at baseball, boxing, and basketball, but football was his passion and the Philadelphia Eagles were his team. If Gary wasn’t watching a live football game; you could find him watching re-plays. Gary could have been a color commentator for the Eagles – he knew every stat about the team. When the Eagles won the Super Bowl, Gary was beside himself with excitement. From the day he was born, Gary exhibited extraordinary physical strength, so it was only natural for him to pursue a career as a heavy machine operator. He was a member of Laborers’ Local 332 as well as the International Union of Engineers Local 542. He worked on some of the biggest construction sites in the Philadelphia area. He took pride in being an operating engineer and was always the first to volunteer to walk the picket line when it was time to represent his fellow operators. Gary loved his job and would help a brother engineer in any way he could. Gary, affectionately known as “Geez” was a true uptown official. Geez loved fashion and it was common ground to see Geez sporting a pair of high-end designer glasses. Gary was also very adventurous. He was in his element when horseback riding, dirt bike riding or motorcycle riding. #54 was his signature number, displayed front/center on his bike. If Gary wasn’t in the gym lifting weights with his boys, he could be found at his standing appointment getting his weekly fresh haircut by his barber or in the basement ordering his beloved nephews to do Calisthenics (mainly push-ups and planks) until failure. Good food, good living and being surrounded by loved ones was how Gary spent his life. Whenever you had the pleasure of being in the presence of Gary (“Geez”) Johnson, you felt like something great had just happened. He made a memory with you each time you were with him. These are the memories we all will take with us until we see him again. Gary’s precious memories will be cherished by his mother, Annette Floyd; step father (who he loved like a father), Mark Floyd; father, William “Randy” Winder (Betty); son, Gary “Terrell”; brother, Kevin, Sr.; sisters, Terri, Karen and Ronnie; brother, William Winder, Jr.; sister, Jamilah Winder; uncles, Calvin Johnson, Stanley Brown and Gregory Turner; aunts, Carol Nicholson, Ginger Nicholson, Linda Rodriguez and Wanda Brown; nephews, Majai, Kevin Jr., Joseph and Micah; nieces, Sabrei, Adeenah and Bianca; god-daughter, Shamirah; and a host of relatives and friends. Geez also leaves to mourn his loss a very special love, Yvette Harris (Manny) who was by his side until he took his very last breath. It has been said that being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage. In the short span of one year since Geez and Manny met, their relationship exemplified strength and courage.