Charles Johnson Obituary

Chip Johnson, 85, of Hot Springs, SD, joined his Savior in Heaven June 30, 2025, at Rapid City Regional Hospital while undergoing emergency surgery.
Chip was born to Alfred Massey Fischer Mason and Ruth (Arnold) Johnson in Vicksburg, MS. A military brat, his first memories were of being hustled to and from military bases where his father was stationed. Chip had a younger brother, Bill, who passed away in 2024 after a long illness. After Alfred's discharge from the service, the family made their home in Chattanooga, TN. They attended the Episcopal church, where Chip was an acolyte. He graduated high school in Chattanooga and began his adult life there. He was married to his first wife, Wanda Pittman, for over 30 years. After marriage he joined the Church of God and vowed to give his life to Christ.
Chip gave his life to Christ and immediately felt a call to ministry. In 1970, he moved his pregnant first wife, Wanda, and two small children (Tim and Tami) from Chattanooga, TN to Denver, CO to assist his brother-in-law, Charles Pittman, in his pastorate there.
Shortly thereafter, he received his first pastoral assignment in La Junta, CO. From there his ministry would lead him and his family, which by now also included David, the baby, to Dunn, LA; a little town outside of Monroe. Then to Lake Charles, LA. As the churches were small, he supplemented his ministry income by working in management in a local grocery store, substitute teaching, and serving various hospitals and fire and police departments as chaplain.
From Lake Charles, the ministry took him and his family to Sommerville, TN, a small town outside of Memphis. And once again, he provided for his family through pastoring, driving a school bus, and serving as the on-call minister for a local funeral home. At the end of that assignment, he moved the family to Tampa, FL to manage his church denomination's bookstore, Pathway Books.
While at the bookstore, he was asked to take a church in the Brandon, FL area. And for the next several years Chip pastored that church while also working as casual labor through Manpower, Inc and eventually teaching at the Christian School his children attended. In that capacity, he was also able to work with Wanda, who taught school there as well. His last pastoral position was in High Springs, FL.
Upon completion of that appointment, Chip and his family returned to the family home area of Chattanooga where he would eventually receive his degree in Psychology.
He and his current wife, Linda, were married in 1998. They resided in Chattanooga, TN, for several years then retired. Their travels brought them to South Dakota, where they have lived in Hot Springs since 2003, eventually building on their small rural property a cabin built from salvaged wood from an old ranch house. Chip worked as substitute teacher at the local school, volunteered as chaplain at
the State Veterans Home, and opened a small home church. He was active in the Hot Springs Ministerial Association and the Hot Springs Ham Radio Club.
He I survived by his second wife Linda; son Tim (Karen) Johnson, who pastors a church in Wetumpka, AL; daughter Tami Johnson of St. Augustine, FL; son David Johnson (Dani) of Florida; stepchildren Lauretta Middleton (Gawian) of Burke, VA; Michele Lindsey, Ponte Vedra, FL; Michael (Ashley) Derrick, of Cleveland, TN; Matthew Derrick of Chattanooga, TN; 9 grandchildren plus one in who has been waiting for his grandfather in heaven, 4 great grandchildren, and countless aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Memorial service will be held 10:00 a.m., Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Hot Springs, SD.
Memorials may be donated to the Bethesda Lutheran School.
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