Joyce Leone Johnson

Joyce Leone Brandt Johnson celebrated her heavenly birthday on Thursday, August 24, 2023. Her earthly birthday was April 23, 1929, in Holland, Michigan, where she grew up with a strong Dutch heritage.  

Joyce attended Western Michigan University, where she met her husband, Okey Burton Johnson, Jr., newly returned from service in the Army Air Force. They were married May 21, 1948. Together they founded Nashville Steel Corporation, in Nashville, TN, and White Star Steel, in Houston, TX. They were married 65 years and raised four children together; she was widowed in November 2013. 

Joyce is pre-deceased by her parents, Richard and Evelyn Van Dyke Brandt; her husband, Okey Burton Johnson, Jr.; and her cousin Bette French Rosenbaum. 

She is survived by children Okey Burton Johnson III (Kathleen), Richard Gray Johnson (Lisa), Brandt Howard Johnson, and Joyce Evelyn Johnson; grandchildren Timothy (Caitlin), Colin (Lauren), Lauren, Phillip, Morgan, Karen Boots (Shad), Jared (Keiko), Bethany, Lisa Weinstein (Bruce), Matthew Kirchner (Kate Schiller), Anna, and Margaret; great-grandchildren Zaeda, Nevaeh, Kaden, Helena, Josephine, Anya, and Max; niece Debbie Hawk; great-nieces Kara and Tamara; and dear friends Linda Roberts and Melinda Howser.

The family wishes to thank all the caregivers at Richland Place Health Center for their unfailingly kind and excellent care, including the staff on the second and fourth floors, and the Social Work team.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Second Harvest Food Bank or to Operation Stand Down Tennessee.

Visitation will be at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens, 9090 Hwy. 100, Nashville, on Wednesday August 30 at 12:30, followed by a life celebration service at 1:30 p.m.