Sandra Carolyn Smith Johnson, age 79, of Florence, passed away April 18, 2023. She led a unique life in which no single person fortunate enough to cross her path came out unchanged from knowing her. She played many roles in life and did all with grace and expertise unequaled by any.
Among those roles are being a stellar mother to her children, an iconic grandmother to her grandchildren, and a teacher with the utmost knowledge, care, and respect for her students from all walks of life.
She also beautifully performed the role of being a friend to call and help when everything and everyone helpful seemed out of reach. Sandra called and checked on everyone she could think to until the very end of her days with us.
Sandra loved to spend her time going out to eat with her family and friends, watching Days of our Lives until she was sick of it, and listening to the works of Elvis Presley and Tom Jones. Though she wouldn’t touch Black Friday with a 10ft. pole until it went online, she also enjoyed shopping for holidays several months in advance for countless people in her life.
Her expansive professional career included being a secretary for the United States Army, being a prominent contracting officer at NASA’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL, and of course being an influential figure in the real estate ecosystem of the Shoals area.
She was the proud owner of the Shoals School of Business real estate school and her little family of real estate agents under her company Sandra Johnson Real Estate. Sandra also loved attending Woodward Avenue Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Rosa Smith; brother, Elroy Smith, Willard Smith, Louis Smith and Doyle Smith; and sister, Loretta Smith.
Left to grieve her loss are her children, Jay Johnson (Sandy) and Kim Tidwell (Lane); grandchildren, Jimmy, Kayla and Trent; step-grandchildren, Sinclair, Michael and James; and her beloved poodle, Elvis.
Her family will receive friends on Thursday, April 20, from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at Williams Funeral Home. The service will follow in the chapel at noon, with Brother Dewayne Crumley officiating. Burial will be at Greenview Cemetery.
Serving as pallbearers will be Jimmy Johnson, Trent Tidwell, Mark Pruitt, Jeff Clemmons, Eddie Murphree and Rikesh Patel. Honorary pallbearers will include Wayne Smith and Lynn Smith.
Special thanks for the endless and abounding care from endocrinologist Dr. Syed Ahmed, pulmonologist Dr. Edsel Holden II, cardiologist Dr. Therese Lango, and long-time family friend and caregiver Christy Biggers.
