Marjorie Johnson

Weslaco- Marjorie Hyde Johnson passed away at Valley Grande Manor on October 9th, 2017. She was born on August 6, 1923 in Springfield, Tennesse, to William and Maude Hyde and lived in Washington, D.C. and Montgomery, Alabama before moving to Weslaco in 1957. She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Ray and Ralph Hyde in Tennesse, a sister, Helen Hyde Green who died in 2015 and her husband, Burt Johnson, who died in Weslaco in 1994. She is survived by a brother, Charles (Lucia) Hyde of Raton, New Mexico, a stepson, Frank (Marie) Johnson of Phoenix, Arizona, and several nieces and nephews. After moving to Weslaco with her husband Burt in 1957, she worked on the development of Knapp Medical Center and John Knox Villager Retirement Center (then named Wesley Manor) in Weslaco. In 1967 she began thirty-seven years as publications editor, photographer, and administrative assistant with the Rio Grande Valley Chamber of Commerce, now the Rio Grande Valley Partnership, retiring in 2004. Under its sponsorship she compiled the Valley Proud History Cookbook in 1991 and authored Historic Grande Valley: An Illustrated History, published in 2001. She was a graduate of Pan American University, now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, an active volunteer at the Weslaco Museum, member of the Hidalgo County Historical Commission, and First United Methodist Church, serving as its board secretary for many years. She was named 2003 Citizen of the Year by the Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce and its Volunteer of the Year for 2006. In 2012 she received the "Women in American History" award from the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, Sam Maverick Chapter. A memorial service will be held on Monday, October 16th, 2017, at 10am at the First United Methodist Church of Weslaco, 520 S Illinois. Memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Weslaco or charity of choice.