Florence M. Johnson

In 1927, at the age of 2 years old, Florence Johnson emigrated from England to Trenton, NJ after being adopted by a paternal uncle and aunt, Samuel and Florence Hilton. She graduated from Trenton High School, where she earned a Varsity Letter on the Swim Team. At the end of World War II, she met J. Kendrick Johnson Jr, a handsome Army veteran, who had recently been discharged from active military service. They were both working for Retail Credit Corp at the time. They were married in June, 1946, 3 weeks after her 21st birthday. They initially moved to the Clinton area, where they led the petition drive to build North Hunterdon Regional High School. They started their fledgling business, Hunterdon County Credit Bureau, on Main St in Clinton, but later moved to Flemington to be closer to the courthouse. Their last location in Flemington was on the second floor of a building adjacent to the courthouse. Florence always loved that office; she affectionately called it her “Window on Main St”. Florence was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church. She was also very active in several business and service organizations including the Elks Auxiliary, the Hunterdon County Soroptomist Club and the Flemington-Raritan PTA. She served as President for all of them. She was the first woman to be elected President of the Associated Credit Bureaus of New Jersey in 1975 and served two terms. She and her husband also led the Bond Drive to build the Flemington-Raritan Community Pool. For these accomplishments, she was inducted into the “First Women of Hunterdon County” at a special Women’s Business Forum ceremony in 1999. At that ceremony, her daughter, Nancy, and son, Larry, announced the formation of an annual scholarship in her name, to assist mothers with training and education costs to facilitate re-entry into the workplace. The scholarship program was administered by the Soroptomist Club. She worked at the courthouse in Flemington as a Title Searcher until 2001, 5 years after the death of her husband. After retiring, she moved to Memphis, TN to join her daughter, Nancy Keith Johnson and her son-in-law, Charles Osterbrink. She resided in Memphis for 15 years, until her death on February 23, 2016. In addition to her daughter, she leaves behind 2 sons, Lawrence Carter Johnson and J. Kendrick Johnson III (Nadine), one grandson, Elliott Osterbrink and one great-grandson, Damon Osterbrink. A graveside service will be held at Prospect Hill Cemetery, Capner Street in Flemington on Saturday, June 4, 2016 at 4 pm. Arrangements are under the direction of Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes any donations be sent to: Riverside Cemetery, 95 Center St, Clinton, NJ 08809. For further information or to leave on online condolence, please visit www.holcombefisher.com.