The Homegoing Celebration for  Bertha M. Johnson June 3, 1902-January 1, 2004 Bertha M. Johnson, longtime resident of Huntington and Clarksburg, West Virginia, passed away on January 1, 2004 at the age of 101 years.  Bertha was born in Pomeroy, Ohio on June 3, 1902 to the union of Charles Edward and Mary Wilson Johnson. Ms. Johnson received her primary secondary education in Huntington, WV at Barnett Elementary and Douglass High Schools.  She received a bachelors degree in Education from West Virginia State College at Institute, WV in the 1920's and attended graduate classes at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.  Bertha taught elementary school for 43 years in several West Virginia school systems, primarily in Clarksburg.  There was never a discipline problem in her classroom.  She was heavily involved in school activities and the lives of her students, many times long after their formal eucation had ended, always offering encouragement liberally sprinkled with humor.  Bertha has been a lifetime member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority since 1945. After retiring from teaching in the 1960's, Bertha remained in Clarksburg for several years before returning home to Huntington.  She provided many years of devoted care to cousin and friend since childhood, Hattie Williams, until Ms. Williams' death in the early 1990's.  In 1998, she moved to Houston, Texas to reside with her sister, Dorthula Taylor, and niece, Helen Allen. The eldest of four surviving children, Bertha was raised with strong Christian principles and a deep sense of family and community.  She was a mainstay of her family, providing assitance to family members and a residence in Huntington for her parents.  Always close to the church, Bertha was a dedicated and diligent worker at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Clarksburg, where she was also a member of the choir and at First Baptist Church in Huntingon.  But her greatest joy came from helping others in the community, especially the sick or elderly, not as a part of an organization, but person to person and neighbor to neighbor.  From running errands to providing groceries, from visitation to phone calls, from writing letters to remembrances on birthdays and holidays, no one escaped her kindness.  Giving was a constant throughout her life. A zest for life and a constant thirst for knowledge was satisfied through a deep interest in ethnic history and travel.  Bertha inherited her mother's gift of story telling and could regale you for hours with tales about personal adventures and those of family and friends.  For the last few years, in declining health, she resided at the Spring Branch Healthcare Center in Houston, Texas.  An abundance of gratitude is extended to the doctors and staff at the Center for the kind and loving care they provided. Ms. Johnson will be sadly missed by all who knew her.