Sharon Johnson

Sharon Ann Ashcraft Johnson, 76 of Pearcy, AR went home to be with her Lord and Savior on November 20, 2023, after a long illness.  Sharon was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas to the late Jeanetta and Leonard Ashcraft on April 26, 1947. 

After graduating from McGehee High School in 1965 she went on to earn a degree in education from Arkansas A & M in Monticello, majoring in English and Drama. She earned two master’s degrees, one in English from Ouachita University and a second from Henderson State University in Early Childhood Development, with an emphasis in counseling.

Sharon spent her career as a teacher and school counselor touching the lives of thousands of children along her journey.    She began her teaching career in 1970 in Memphis, TN.  Later she moved to Little Rock to teach English and direct the drama club at Mount Saint Mary's.  It was at that time she met and married her husband Jerry Leonard Johnson, on September 23, 1977.  A few years later she and her family moved to Pearcy (Hot Springs), where she taught and provided counseling at the Lakeside Intermediated Elementary School for over 24 years.  Sharon had a great love for children and their welfare.  In counseling, she would often use stories of her life growing up in a small southern town.  Often, she heard from former students saying how much those stories influenced their lives. 

Sharon was a very loving and devoted, wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, and sister.  She had a great love and took a great deal of pride in cooking from scratch for her family. Her gift was working in the earth planting flowers, although she called it her therapy.  Sharon had an amazing talent for decorating.  This time of year, one of her joys was wrapping each person's Christmas present with great precision, spending hours making beautiful bows. 

Sharon is survived by her husband of 46 years, Jerry Johnson; son, Nathan Johnson of Pearcy; and daughter, Lauren Martin (Clay) from Austin TX;  five grandchildren, Meira and River Johnson, Spencer Harvey and Alex and Grace Martin.  She is also survived by her sister, Sandra Reifeiss (Gary) of North Little Rock.

A family memorial will be held at a later date.