Johnson retires after 39 years

After 39 years at Southern University, Mary Johnson, coordinator of testing services, retired this summer.
“It’s time to give it up,” Johnson said. “My son called me one day and asked me if I would be leaving any time for him.”
Johnson arrival on The Bluff was in 1964, after she received a bachelor’s degree in biological science from Bishop College in Marshall, Texas. While at Southern, she obtained a Master of Arts in counseling education.
When she first came to the university, she said she thought it was only to be temporary.
“I was supposed to be coming for only a year originally,” Johnson said. “They kept asking me to stay a little longer and I stayed. They asked again and again and that turned into 39 years.”
Tracie Abraham, interim director of admissions, said that the office would miss Johnson, who the staff affectionately called Miss Blue and Gold.
“Everything she did was in the spirit of Southern University,” Abraham said. “We’ll miss her. There’s no more blue and gold in the office.”
Abraham said Johnson was very pleasant to work with and that she kept the peace in the office.
“She never came to work with a frown,” Abraham said. “She was the life of the office.”
Johnson said she would spend her spare time traveling, organizing and doing the things that she hasn’t done in a while. She will also spend time with her five children, three who are Southern alumni.
“These have been a beautiful 39 years,” Johnson said. “I know when it’s time to go. I want to walk out laughing.”