Kimberly Johnson
- Published: February 8, 2024
Kimberly Susan Johnson passed from this life Jan. 25, 2024, surrounded by her loving family, after a long battle with dementia. She was born Sept. 5, 1956, in Springfield, Ohio, the eldest child of Joseph and Shirley (Goff) Fugate.
Kim grew up in Clark County 4-H, loved 4-H camp and would become a 4-H advisor with her daughters later in life. She also grew up with her maternal grandparents and great-grandfather right up the lane behind them. She would talk about her great-grandpa Justin until the day she died. Kim learned to be a great mother from her mother and by helping her mom with her younger siblings.
Kim graduated from Greenon High School in 1974 and attended Clark State College. She went to work at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and married her husband of 45 years, Rex, on August 25, 1978, at the outdoor chapel at Camp Birch. Kim and Rex would be blessed with two daughters, two grandsons and two granddaughters, who became the focus of her life.
Her infectious laugh and vivacious smile were evident to all at the hundreds of live music shows and festivals she and Rex attended over the years, and she was a devoted Led Head. Of special note were the 10 years spent attending the Appalachian Uprising Bluegrass Festival in Lawrence County, Ohio, and of course the Springfield Summer Arts Festival. The Yellow Springs Street Fair and the Fair at New Boston were favorites of hers.
Kim loved her 1832 brick farmhouse in Cedarville Township and the flowers she surrounded it with. She was never on a beach she didn’t love, from Sleeping Bear in Michigan, to the Baths on British Virgin Gorda.
Kim was preceded in death by favorite uncles, Frank Fugate and Bill Goff; son-in-law Levi Bittner; mother- and father-in-law, Elsie and Bob Johnson; and special friends, Margie Wright and Joshuwa Plambeck. She is survived by her husband, Rex Johnson; her parents, Joe and Shirley Fugate; her daughters, Sarah Bittner and Megan Johnson; grandsons, Colton and Jaxon Bittner; her granddaughters, Aurora Liston and Nevaeh Plambeck; her brother, Tony (Amy) Fugate; her sisters, Melissa (Darren) Current and Tracy Furderer; favorite aunt, Brenda Goff; sisters-in-law, Michelle Johnson, Denise (Dwight) Pittenger and Carma (Ivy) Cook; brother-in-law, Keith (Linda) Johnson; Wright-Patterson AFB friends; lifelong friends; and a host of cousins, nieces and nephews.
The family would like to convey how proud they were of Kim and incredibly blessed to have had her in their lives. She will be sorely missed by her family and friends and was the guiding light for her family. The family also would like to extend their appreciation to the good people at the Villages of Huber and Day-City Hospice.
A visitation was held Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, at Jackson Lytle & Lewis Life Celebration Center, from noon–2 p.m., and the Celebration of her Life began at 2 p.m. Kim was laid to rest at Massies Creek Cemetery, Cedarville. The family will be holding a Celebration of Kim’s life in the spring. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in Kim’s honor. Condolences are forwarded to the family by visiting jacksonlytle.com.
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