Blacksburg, Virginia -- 28 Nov 2021.

Doris Johnson Will passed away peacefully 28 Nov 2021. Born 6 Jan 1925, in Grant, Virginia, she lived most of her adult life in Charleston, West Virginia where she was a chemist for DuPont and later a librarian at Overbrook Elementary School. After retiring, she and her late husband Lee Will became avid travelers, visiting all 7 continents, making many friends along the way. She was an active member of First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Charleston before moving recently to Blacksburg, Virginia. She is survived by her two daughters Rebecca and Diana, her stepson John, and five grandchildren; predeceased by her son Jerry. There is currently no memorial service set and the family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider making a donation to their favorite charity in Doris's name.

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Doris Johnson Will died this morning, Sunday, 28 Nov 2021, at Warm Hearth, Blacksburg, Virginia. She was 96.

Doris was born 6 Jan 1925 in Grant, Virginia, the daughter of William Hannibal Jesse Franklin Johnson and Pearl Jane Hash. She graduated from Athens High School in Athens, West Virginia and received her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Concord College in Athens. She worked for DuPont at the Belle plant outside Charleston, West Virginia. She later received her Master's degree in Library Science and worked in the library at Overbrook Elementary School in Charleston.

Doris married Lee Will in 1949, and they raised their children in South Hills in Charleston. She was a member of First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ (now United Disciples of Christ Church) in Charleston. Her sister Imogene Sexton lived with her in Charleston for many years. Doris later moved to Warm Hearth where she died in 2021.

Doris was predeceased by her husband Lee Will (1994) and son Jerry Lee Will (2019). She was the last living of 13 siblings who died over the span of 113 years: Dewey Maxorell Johnson (1918), Lenora Fleota Johnson Owensby (1957), Amie Johnson (1908), Louis Vivian Johnson (1961), Louise Johnson (1911), William Dennis Johnson (1954), Marguerite Celia Johnson Grubb (1989), Marie Johnson Ross (2003), Imogene Johnson Sexton (2010), Charles Hughes Johnson (1922), Velma Pearl Johnson Hedrick (2019), and Wilbur Harris Johnson (1994).

Doris is survived by her daughters Rebecca Will (granddaughter Sarah Elizabeth Will) and Diana Will; Jerry's children (grandson Tyler Matthew Will and granddaughter Alexis Paige Will); stepson John Griffin Will (granddaughter Stephanie Kay Will and grandson Randall Clifford Will).

Cremated in 2021. Inurnment at Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, Wednesday, 1 Feb 2023, 11am. Present were daughters Rebecca Will and Diana Will and son-in-law Don Braffitt.

Children and their families ([] indicate step-son and previous marriage):

....... 5 Doris Johnson (1925-2021).

....... + P. L. Will (1915-1994).

......... 6 [John Griffin Will].

......... + Sandra Kay Cobert (1948-2010).

........... 7 Stephanie Kay Will.

........... + Christopher J. Foster.

........... 7 Randall Clifford Will.

........... + Heather M. O'Toole.

........... + Kristen J. Valentine.

......... + Jacqueline Woody [Faughn].

......... 6 Rebecca Will.

......... + Donald James Braffitt (parents Jim Braffitt and Dorothy Cook).

........... 7 Sarah Elizabeth Will.

......... 6 Jerry Lee Will (1956-2019).

......... + Mary Katherine McGee.

........... 7 Alexis Paige Will.

........... + Charles Pascal "Pace" Zambito.

........... 7 Tyler Matthew Will.

........... + Aeriana Helene Mann.

......... 6 Diana Will.

Key to the 1941 family picture:

Hash/Johnson/Adams family Christmas 1941, at the Johnson family farm near Grant, Grayson County, Virginia. From the photos of Imogene Johnson Sexton. Picture probably by Marie Johnson Ross. Names are mostly as written on the back of the picture with corrections suggested in 2010 by Doris Johnson Will.

Top left to bottom right:

Back row: Glen Ross, W. H. Johnson, Pearl Hash Johnson, Celia Grubb Hash, Mattie Hash Adams.

Middle row: D. J. Adams, Imogene Johnson Sexton, June Adams, Wilbur Johnson.

Front row: Alex Adams, Doris Johnson, Louise Adams, Velma Johnson.

The relationships are:

.... 3 Dennis Hash [not pictured; died July 1941].

.... + Celia Grubb.

...... 4 Pearl Hash.

...... + W. H. Johnson.

........ 5 Marie Johnson [likely photographer].

........ + Glen Ross.

........ 5 Imogene Johnson.

........ + Ford Sexton [not pictured].

........ 5 Doris Johnson.

........ 5 Velma Johnson.

........ 5 Wilbur Johnson.

...... 4 Mattie Hash.

...... + Alex Adams.

........ 5 D. J. Adams.

........ 5 June Adams.

........ 5 Louise Adams.

References:

• Christmas 1941 Hash/Johnson/Adams family picture, at the Johnson family farm near Grant, Grayson County, Virginia. From the photos of Imogene Johnson Sexton. Picture probably by Marie Johnson Ross.

• 12 Dec 2021 Charleston Gazette-Mail, Charleston, West Virginia obituary (written mostly by granddaughter Sarah Will).

• 2024 FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/G3KK-J8C .

• 2024 Johnson descendants: https://willbraffitt.org/roots/JohnsonDescendants.txt .

• 2024 Hash descendants: https://willbraffitt.org/roots/HashDescendants.txt .

• 2024 Will descendants: https://willbraffitt.org/roots/WillDescendants.txt .