Shirley Johnson

Shirley Johnson lived a full Catholic life and loved to continuously learn about her Catholic faith. Some of her favorite programs were Father Mitch Pacwa's Scripture & Tradition and EWTN Live. When setting up her estate plan, Shirley wanted to support the Network that meant so much to her during her lifetime. Shirley Ann Johnson was born on September 17, 1936. Shirley's life was one of service and spending her life for others. Shirley was a Holy Cross Sister for 18 years and taught at Santa Cruz Catholic School and San Xavier Mission School. She then discerned that God wanted her to leave the convent and help her sister, Ruth. During this time, Shirley tutored children in various subjects, which she continued until the last nine months of her earthly life. Shirley made several pilgrimages to EWTN throughout her life. One time, their bus broke down on the way back to Tucson from a Family Celebration in Birmingham. They had to wait several hours for a replacement bus, but the time went quickly as they all shared their experiences and memories from the trip, which made the delay much easier to deal with. When she was no longer able to attend daily Mass in person, she loved to watch the Mass broadcast from Irondale. She felt more present during the televised Mass because she had visited the chapel in Irondale a number of times. After recovering from heart surgery, Shirley decided to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She said she felt blessed to be able to experience breathing the air that Jesus and Mary breathed and walking in their footsteps. One of the highlights from her pilgrimage was the Way of the Cross; however, it was especially difficult for her as her chest still hurt from the surgery. She thought about how exhausted Jesus must have been making His way to Golgotha and how He struggled. She thought, "If He could do it, so must I." Shirley learned a lot about her Catholic Faith from EWTN. Watching Father Mitch's Holy Land Rosary especially made her pilgrimage that much richer. Through it all, EWTN was there for her. In the hospital and at home, before, during and after COVID, when all our Churches were shuttered, EWTN was there keeping the Faith! A longtime supporter of the network, Shirley wanted to establish a Legacy Gift for EWTN. Through her will, Shirley divided the proceeds from her home between three charities including EWTN. She also named EWTN as a beneficiary of her IRAs. After visiting her, Ryan Flood said, "Shirley gives us a great lesson in detachment from the material goods of this world…so we can keep our eyes better fixed on Jesus." The value of her home and retirement accounts make a meaningful difference to each charity. EWTN will have more resources to evangelize and help others live an integrated Catholic life because of her estate gifts.

May Shirley's soul and all the souls of the faithful departed Rest in Peace. Amen.

To learn more about including Catholic Provisions or charitable gifts in your estate plans, please contact the Legacy Giving Program to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation phone call with one of our Gift Planners.