Family will recall Dosie Johnson's 'unconditional love': She raised 16 children

Dosie B. Johnson, who was born on a sharecropper's farm in South Carolina and came to Philadelphia where she became an active churchwoman and raised 16 children, died Nov. 13. She was 88 and lived in North Philadelphia.

Dosie was the daughter of Willie and Nancy Hawkins. She was the third of 11 children born in Aiken, S.C. She was baptized at Mount Transfiguration Baptist Church in Belvedere, S.C.

She married Robert W. Johnson Sr. on Dec. 29, 1935. They moved to Philadelphia in 1946 with six of their children. Her husband died in 1993.

Dosie was an active member of Transfiguration Baptist Church and Life Study Fellowship for more than 60 years.

Her favorite gospel hymn was "Cooling Water," and her favorite Bible passage was Psalm 34, 1-4: " . . . I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears."

"Her unconditional love helps us to embrace and cherish her memory until we meet again," her family said in an obituary.

She is survived by five daughters, Willa, Ruth, Leola, Henrietta and Regina; 10 sons, Joshua, Robert Jr., Eugene, Curtis, Hameed, Raymond, Ronald, Rickey, Samuel and Larry; 60 grandchildren, 89 great-grandchildren and 26 great-great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by another daughter, Robin.

Services: Were Nov. 20. Burial was in Northwood Cemetery. *

- John F. Morrison