H.C. "Coot" Johnson, 94, of Pensacola, FL passed away on Monday, July 26, 2021.

He was born on May 12,1927 in Vernon, FL. He graduated from Military school at 17 and joined the Navy to defend his country during WWII. After being stationed in the Philippines, his ship "The Boxer" was headed to battle in Japan, but the war officially ended before the ship arrived. After the war, Coot used the GI Bill to attend the University of Florida and lettered in track and field and tennis. He finished his education in Pensacola years later graduating from UWF in the early 1970's with a major in history.

Coot returned to Pensacola and married the love of his life, Dianne, on August 3,1954 and were blessed to be together for 64 years. Between 1955 and 1959, they had three girls and lived in Pensacola, Georgia and then in Cocoa, FL. Coot was a manager at General Finance Corp and was relocated to Panama City briefly before he made the final move back to Pensacola in 1964. He purchased a bait and tackle shop that would become "Johnson's Marina". Coot's cousin Tom Rooks and his wife Jane, joined in with Coot and Dianne about a year later and it became Johnson-Rooks Marina. In the late 1960's, they converted the marina into a seafood restaurant and named it the "Marina Oyster Barn".  Coot sold his half to the Rooks family and used his new degree to start a teaching position at Ferry Pass Middle School in the 1970's. He taught math and enjoyed lunch everyday with his wife who taught civics at Ferry Pass. Both retired in 1990, which is the same year three of his five grandchildren were born.

Retirement proved to be FUN with lots of fishing trips, followed by years of playing (almost daily) golf and numerous bowling leagues with his wife, Dianne. They were truly best friends until she passed in October 2018.

Coot's legacy will always be his ability to make people feel special. He loved chatting and loved asking others about themselves. He was adored dearly by young and old alike.

Coot is preceded in death by his parents, Herbert and Milbra Hightower Johnson; his wife, Dianne Eichelberger Johnson; his sister, Katherine "Kay" Custer McKinney; as well as his granddaughter, Brittney Nicole Godfrey.

Survivors include his daughters, Stacee Tingleff (John) of Milton; Tani Godfrey of Pensacola, and Cristy Morawski (Richard) of Cleveland, TN; granddaughter, Brianna Godfrey of St. Petersburg; grandsons, Dane Tingleff of New York, NY, Eric Tingleff of Mountain View, CA, and Michael Colburn of Pace; great-grandson, Kamden Sanders of Milton; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, July 31 2021 at 10:30am at First Christian Church followed by the service at 11am with Rev. Tim Clarke officiating, followed by interment at Bayview Memorial Park.

Pallbearers will be John Tingleff, Lloyd Smart, Reggie Simmons, Jim Vasser, Barry Weber, Dale Rooks, David Tubbs, and John Eichelberger III.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to First Christian Church-Disciples of Christ, 6031 Goodrich Dr., Pensacola, FL 32504.

The family would like to thank the staff and residents of The Blake of Pensacola, and especially Charline Wetzel for taking special care of dad and thanks to his friend, Nova Jernigan for being dad's buddy! We would also like to thank Emerald Coast Hospice and our friends for their care and their help during the final two weeks. God bless you all.