Henry Ellis Johnston

Henry Ellis Johnston, a resident of Cowarts, passed away Friday, November 9, 2007. He was 71. Funeral services will be held 3:00 p.m. Monday, November 12, 2007, at Cowarts Baptist Church with Rev. Coley Holloway and Dr. Johnny Roberts officiating. Burial will follow in the Cowarts Baptist Church Cemetery with Byrd Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends at the church from 1:00 p.m. until service time Monday. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Cowarts Baptist Church Family Life Center Building Fund. Mr. Johnston was born December 12, 1935 in Cowarts, AL. He attended Ashford High School, Pearl River Junior College, in Mississippi, and the University of Alabama where he received a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He was a member of the University of Alabama football team. After graduating he was employed with the State of Alabama Department of Transportation retiring with 30 years of service. He was also employed after his retirement for several years with Textile, Rubber and Chemical Corp. He spent his last years of retirement working in construction and land development. He served four years as a council member for the Town of Cowarts before being elected as mayor in 2004. He was a member of Cowarts Baptist Church where he had served as a Sunday School teacher, Deacon and Chairman of the Deacons. He is predeceased by his parents, Aubrey and Madie Johnston and a brother, B. Z. Johnston. Survivors include his wife, Martha Partrich Johnston; two sons, Henry Ellis “Bud” Johnston, Jr. and his wife, Holly, of Castlerock, CO, and Gary Lawrence Johnston, Cowarts; one daughter, Stephanie Johnston Tresch and her husband, Dan, of Arlington, TX; six grandchildren, Conner and Savannah Johnston, Brooke, Amber, Cade, and Carson Tresch; two brothers, Manley Johnston and Douglas Johnston and his wife, Rita; one sister, Ruth Bailey, Wadley, AL. Several nieces and nephews also survive. The joy of his life was spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren, attending Alabama football games, spending time at Panama City Beach, and working with the Town of Cowarts.