Betty Jean Bruner Gaines Johnson

Mrs. Betty Jean Bruner Gaines Johnson, age 86, of the Buck Grove community, near Brandenburg, KY, passed away Tuesday, December 26, 2017, at the Brandenburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center after spending Christmas Day surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren at her family home.  She had been a resident at All About Home Assisted Living for several years.  Mrs. Johnson was born December 7, 1931, the daughter of Gus Edwin (Buck) and Ethel Marie Harrington Bruner.  She was a member of Buck Grove Baptist Church and its Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), the Buck Grove Homemakers, a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and a Civil Service retiree.  Mrs. Johnson enjoyed ministering to family and friends with cards and notes for all occasions.  She was always such a blessing to those who knew her.  Her favorite hobby was traveling – by car, tour bus, airplane or cruise ship.  She had lived in Kentucky, Texas and Germany.  But her most important life’s vocation was being proud of and actively involved in the lives of her children and their families. 

Mrs. Johnson was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands, Elbridge Gerry “Ebb” Gaines, Jr. and Thelbert “Johnny” Johnson; her brother-in-law, James “Mack” Johnson; and two sisters-in-law, Nancy Gaines Crutcher and Geraldine Johnson.  She is survived by three children, Beverly Gaines (Sam) Lawson, Union, KY, Gerry Edwin (Margaret) Gaines, Bardstown, KY and Donna Gaines (Mark) Brown, Brandenburg, KY; two step-sons, Michael Ralph (Jenny) Johnson, Smyrna, TN and Johnny Bert Johnson, Dallas, TX; seven grandchildren, Jean-Marie Lawson (Bobby) Spann, Union, KY, Patrick Gerry (Karla) Gaines, Louisville, KY, Rachael Brown (Josef) Mangin, Big Bend, KY, Bridgette Brown, Brandenburg, KY, and Mark Wilmuth (Tara) Brown, Leitchfield, KY; seven great- grandchildren, Reece Michael Pollock, Jack Patrick Gaines, Lee Lawson Spann, Brady Lawson Spann, Katherine Brown, Alexandria Brown, and Caroline Brown; a sister, JoAnn Sturgeon Bondurant, Buck Grove, KY; five sisters-in-law, Betty Gaines (Bill) Bennett, Buck Grove, KY; Leona Gaines Montgomery Lorton, Buck Grove, KY; Mary Gaines Muter, Land ‘O Lakes, FL; Velma Johnson, Myrtle Beach, SC and  Ann Johnson, Myrtle Beach, SC; brother-in-law, Ralph (Elaine) Johnson, Conway, SC; and many special nieces, nephews and life-long friends.

Funeral Services will be held at Noon, Saturday, December 30, 2017, at Buck Grove Baptist Church, with Rev. David Campbell officiating.  Burial will follow in Buck Grove Cemetery.  Her family will hold visitation in the Buck Grove Baptist Church Fellowship Hall on Friday, December 29, from Noon to 8:00 p.m., and from 10:00 a.m. Saturday in the Buck Grove Baptist Church sanctuary until time for the service at Noon.   Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Buck Grove Baptist Church WMU, 255 Buck Grove Road, Ekron, KY 40117. 

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