Jacquelyn Maya Johnson

The Life of Jacquelyn Maya Johnson If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed… nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:20 Jacquelyn “Jac” Maya Johnson, daughter of Fred Kwame Johnson and Wendy Spears was born on November 29, 2001, in Flushing, New York. At the age of four, Jacquelyn moved to her ancestral home in St. Helena, SC. She was a member of her great grandfather’s church, Faith Memorial Baptist. Jac sang on the Sunbeam choir alongside her sister Taylor. Jac was the love of her big sister’s life and her best friend. They were inseparable. Jac was funny, precocious and showed signs of brilliance at a very young age. Jacquelyn was identified as gifted and talented in the Arts at the age of six while attending St. Helena Elementary. Jac’s innate creativity evolved at Beaufort Middle School in the Academic, Mathematics, Engineering and Science (AMES) Academy program. Jacquelyn was an avid Track & Field, Basketball and Volleyball athlete. She was a Project Unify Buddy for her classmates with Special Needs. Jacquelyn was very active in their Special Olympic events and helped them to achieve their goals. She also excelled competing in Cybermission National Competitions. Her team finished in 2nd place in the nation. Jac found an immense amount of joy in attending the afterschool program at the Boys and Girls Club, enabling her participation in Beaufort Children’s Theatre for nine productions. Jacquelyn annually was a participant in the yearly Christmas production of “The Nativity Scene” from the Penn School “Mystery Play. Jacquelyn had a sense of humor and a personality that everyone around her gravitated to. Her mother Wendy, and sister Taylor were a strong trio unit. Jac was the leader of the family. Gregory loved her tremendously and Carlton was her biggest fan and biggest hype man. We followed her. Jac’s voice had a special vibration to it, like the sound of a bell. Jac was a strong, courageous, thought provoking, compassionate, discerning, kind spirited person. Her mantra was “positive energy”. She exuded beauty inside and out. Her father, Fred Kwame Johnson loved her incessantly. At times his love for her ingratiated her, but she loved him the same way. Jac had an innate ability of discernment. Her exuberant, charm, grace and kindness were breathtaking. During her years at Beaufort High School, Jacquelyn continued to participate in sports. Her all-time favorite sport was volleyball. During Jacquelyn’s final semester in her junior year of high school she transferred to Bridges Preparatory School in Port Royal, South Carolina while dually attending the Technical College of the Low Country. Jacquelyn was a pioneer and historian as the first black student in the first graduating class of Bridges Prep in June 2020. In May 2021, Jac moved to Henrico, VA with her mother and sister. She enjoyed exploring her new environment. The summer of 2021 was joyous. Filled with love, laughter, new adventures, family and friends. On August 31, 2021, Jac’s journey changed. She was diagnosed with Acute Myleoid Leukemia (AML). Her health journey lasted for 14 months. During her new norm she found her voice, her vision, her resolve. Jac valiantly became her personal health advocate. She read, researched, challenged, questioned, and accepted her diagnoses. Jac held on to her faith of a mustard seed. She was faith based, extremely spiritual, relentless and boundless in her desire to live a quality-of-life Jac’s way. Jacquelyn was a sophomore attending Voorhees College (online) majoring in Mass Communications. Jac slipped away into eternal rest on Friday, October 14, 2022, at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, VA. Jac was predeceased by her maternal grandmother, Ethel B. Ladson, maternal grandfather, Winford L. Spears; paternal grandmother Shirley Marion Allen, paternal grandfather, Fred Johnson, aunt Michelle Johnson, brother Justin Johnson. She leaves to cherish her memories, mother Wendy Spears; father, Fred Kwame Johnson; brothers, Gregory Andre Spears and Carlton Lamar Johnson; sister, Taylor Johnson; niece, Brielle Malia Bailey; paternal grandfather, Robert W. Allen; paternal grand-aunt, Barbara Smalls and Ellen Johnson; maternal grand uncle George Williams; maternal grand aunt Gardenia Simmons-White and Frances Grant; and a host of uncles, aunts, cousins and dear friends. God saw the load was getting heavy and the hills were hard to climb So, he closed her weary eyelids and whispered, “Peace Be Thine”.

Tributes

Jacquelyn Maya Johnson

November 29, 2001 - October 14, 2022