William Edward Johnston, Sr.

William Edward Johnston Sr. passed away peacefully in his sleep the afternoon of June 10th, 2024 with his children and granddaughter by his bedside. In his final hours, it was standing room only around his hospital bed as his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and family friends held his hands and shared their favorite stories of him.

The relatives and friends of William Johnston, Sr., are invited to attend his Memorial Service at 11:00 AM, Saturday, June 22, 2024 at Parks Funeral Home, 130 W. 1st. Street, Summerville, SC 29483.

Petty Officer 1st Class Johnston was a career Navy veteran who served in the Vietnam and Korean wars and was stationed on the U.S.S. Carpenter as a Navy diver. He was a decorated war hero who received many commendations including the Korean Service Ribbon, the United Nations Ribbon, and the China Service Ribbon. William was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in a family with one older sister and five younger sisters. Perhaps it was this close relationship with so many sisters that lead him to win the heart of his beloved wife, Jean. William and Jean married in 1956 and traveled all over the world. When William was deployed, he would faithfully send Jean postcards from every port of call with updates of his travels and of how much he missed her. They eventually settled down in Summerville, South Carolina where they raised their three children. Known to his acquaintances as “Bill,” and known to his and his children’s friends as “Sparky” for a penchant to start small (and sometimes large) explosions, he was a larger-than-life personality. In his later years, Bill was affectionally known as “Poppy” to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They all have warm stories of their Poppy sneaking them some of his sugar free (and sometimes not so sugar free) candy, being lovingly fussed at by his wife, or being asked to go fetch him a beer and then crush the empty can in his homemade can crusher. He was constantly making people laugh, quite literally until the day he died. Yelling out jokes that had the hospital staff in stiches in his final days.

Bill lived a full life and will be sadly missed but beautifully remembered by his surviving family. Bill is survived by his sister Anna Cleckner (Kenneth), his children Linda Johnston and William “Billy” Johnston Jr. (Kammy). His grandchildren Nicole Johnston, Teresa Johnston, Jason Johnston, Melissa Johnston, Robert Johnston (Carissa), Joseph Weick, Julianna Johnston (Jeremy), Tyler Janssen (Tiffany), and MarcAnn Janssen (Brandon), and his great-grandchildren Christopher, Nicole, Isabell, Mattie, Christian, Donovan, Preston, Eva, Alayna, Kayden, Johnathan, Bryan, Charlotte, and Amelia. He is preceded in death by his wife Jean Johnston, his son Robert “Bob” Johnston (Donna), and his sisters Audrey Johnson, Charlotte Jones, Florence Kerr, Darlene Taylor, and Sharon Presby.

Arrangements by PARKS FUNERAL HOME, 130 W. 1st north Street, Summerville, SC 29483. www.parksfuneralhome.com.

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