William Dale Johnston

William Dale Johnston
BIRTH
28 May 1922
Chester, Hancock County, West Virginia, USA
DEATH
25 Sep 2017 (aged 95)
Waller, Waller County, Texas, USA
BURIAL
Katy Magnolia Cemetery
Katy, Waller County, Texas, USA Show Map
MEMORIAL ID
183756352 · View Source
MEMORIAL
PHOTOS 5
FLOWERS 4
William Dale Johnston passed away peacefully on Monday, September 25, 2017, at the age 95 in his Waller, Texas home. He was born on May 28, 1922, in Chester, West Virginia, to James Hilary Johnston and Sarah Edith Davis Johnston.

On April 6, 1946, he married Mabel Ruth Voyles, in Delhi, California. Bill and Mabel met on a blind date in Glendale, California while Bill was studying aeronautical engineering at Cal Tech on the G.I. Bill.

An engineer by profession, Bill had a very full life including being part of the Flying Tigers (Army Air Corps) in WWII and working on the development of two different stages of the Minuteman missile (weights and balances). With his late wife, Mabel, they raised five children. They also lost an infant daughter, Nancy Lynn Johnston, in a birthing accident on May 7, 1949. Their adventures took them and their family to California (three years) and Utah (four years) before they returned home to their lovely West Virginia home. Originally a three-room cabin he bought from his aunt. Bill had transformed it with his own hands into a large two-story home set on a hill with a magnificent view of the valley below.

Bill loved to fly and owned a number of aircraft over the years. He and Mabel flew across the country many times visiting family and friends and attending reunions for the Flying Tigers. They transported their children and grandchildren on many trips, especially after they moved to Texas twenty-six years ago. He was a faithful Christian and a very clever solution-oriented problem solver. Bill had a delightful sense of humor, fun and joy that lives on in his descendants. They will miss him greatly.

Bill is survived by his children, Sarah Ruth Johnston Reid, Marjory Jean Johnston, Cynthia Ann Johnston Brewer, Richard William Johnston, and Daniel Dale Johnston; 10 grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren; and one brother, Jack Johnston of Chester, West Virginia.

The family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 30, 2017, at the Schmidt Funeral Home East Avenue Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 1, 2017, at the Katy Church of Christ. Interment in Katy Magnolia Cemetery.

Family Members
Parents

James Hilary Johnston
1896–1990

Sarah Edith Davis Johnston
1898–1969

Spouse

Mabel Ruth Voyles Johnston
1923–2010 (m. 1947)

Siblings

Robert Hilary Johnston
1920–1987

John W Johnston
1926–2018

Children

Sarah Ruth Johnston Reid
1948–2019

Daniel Dale Johnston
1961–2019

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183756352/william-dale-johnston