David T. Johnston

David Townsend Johnston passed to be with the Lord and his beloved wife Shirley Mae Johnston on January 26, 2014. He is survived by his sister, Sue Margaret Peterson of Bozeman, Montana; his daughters, Lori Johnston Baswell and her husband Doug, and Tina Johnston Studdard and her husband Wes, both living in New Braunfels, TX. He was blessed with six grandchildren, Callie Baswell Smith, Mindy Baswell, Macie Baswell Knight, Jordan Studdard, Taylor Studdard and Lauren Mae Studdard. He loved his five great grandchildren, Atlie, Graylynn and River Smith, Nella and Silas Knight. He will be greatly missed by his dog Maggie. David was married to his sweetie, Shirley for 55 years and has been looking forward to reuniting with her in Heaven since she passed one year ago. They fell in love at 12 years old and had a long life together full of love and laughter. David was born in Century, Florida, but shortly after moved to Mobile, Alabama where he grew up with his five older sisters then married Shirley and raised his family. He graduated from Murphy High School in 1953 where he loved running track and playing football. He enrolled in the Air Force and continued to play football for them while stationed in Germany. David had many stories of his time and adventures in Germany. When he was stationed in Reno he was a Survival Training Instructor, taking trainees out on 20 day survival trips into the mountains. He later came back to Mobile to marry Shirley and attend Auburn University. Among his many passions were being an avid Auburn fan, watching and playing football, dancing, reading, traveling, cooking and eating the finest foods. He enjoyed the limelight and had a fun time singing in the cast of Hello Dolly performed in Mobile, and being an extra in the Stephen Spielberg movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Some highlights of that experience were having Stephen Spielberg over for dinner and having his picture on the poster that advertised the movie. He had a lot of stories about that too! He never met a stranger and his love for people helped him to have a successful career in residential and commercial real estate. He began with Cummings and White-Spunner, then worked in the 7-11 Division of Southland Corporation in Mobile, Baton Range, Arlington and Austin. David was above all a wonderful son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and friend to those who loved him. He loved to joke, tell a story and laugh about things. He was easy to forgive and not only showed but told his family daily how much he loved them. We would like to thank the staff at Sterling House Assisted Living in New Braunfels for their tender loving care toward our father while he lived there this last year. He always received wonderful care from the VA of San Antonio, Dr. Mark Burns, Dr. Brien Wofford, Dr. Ted Trusevich, Dr. Steven Beito, Dr. Todd Smith, the staff at Fresinius Dialysis Clinic, his driver, Jennifer from Eagle Pass Transportation, the Visiting Angels of New Braunfels, his special friend Emma Deninno, the Pastors of Oakwood Baptist Church and Hope Hospice of New Braunfels. We would also like to thank Napolitos Restaurant on Loop 337 for making the best migas taco in town which our Dad enjoyed daily! In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that you make a donation in David's name to Oakwood Baptist Church where David attended weekly. A Memorial Service will be held at 1:00pm on Friday, January 31, 2014 at Oakwood Baptist Church in New Braunfels. A graveside service with military honors is scheduled for 10:30 AM on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.