WHEREAS, the Reverend Paulis Ervin Johnson, Sr., a respected faith leader and beloved member of the Roanoke community, died on January 30, 2023; and

WHEREAS, born in Baltimore, Paulis "Paul" Johnson moved to Roanoke and worked at The Hotel Roanoke for some time, where he met his first wife, Roberta; and

WHEREAS, Paul Johnson then served as a mail sorter with the United States Postal Service from 1966 to 1988, while also managing a small farm where he raised hogs and later cattle; and

WHEREAS, after years of faithful service as a Sunday school teacher and deacon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Roanoke, Paul Johnson was called to the ministry at Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Gala and Chestnut Grove Baptist Church in Bedford County; and

WHEREAS, Paul Johnson would then serve at First Missionary Baptist Church in New River and at Wake Forest Baptist Church in Blacksburg before becoming the first pastor of the Williams Memorial Baptist Church in Roanoke in 1979, where he would serve until his retirement in 2009; and

WHEREAS, over the years, Paul Johnson provided his congregations with uplifting and edifying spiritual counsel and bountiful opportunities for outreach, bringing many closer to their faith and their communities; and

WHEREAS, preceded in death by his first wife, Roberta; his second wife, Margaret; and his son, Frank, Paul Johnson will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his children, Paula, Paulis, Jr., and Lesley, and their families and by numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Delegates hereby note with great sadness the loss of the Reverend Paulis Ervin Johnson, Sr., a cherished member of the Roanoke community whose kindness and generosity touched countless lives; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of the Reverend Paulis Ervin Johnson, Sr., as an expression of the House of Delegates' respect for his memory.