Johnnie Rae Latham

Johnnie Rae Latham, 66, of Show Low, Arizona passed away on December 26, 2019 after a courageous battle with cancer. Her wishes were to be cremated and a celebration of her special life will be held at Grace Church in Show Low, Arizona on March 7, 2020.

Mrs. Latham was born in Womack Army Hospital at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on July 21, 1953 to John J Stewart and Beverly (Van Polen) Stewart. Her two greatest joys were both knowing Jesus as her Savior and being a Nana to her eight grandchildren. She was both the daughter and wife of career soldiers and one of her daughters served in Bosnia during that war. She loved all veterans of all our Military Branches.

Johnnie Rae was proud to call herself an “Army Brat.” She loved to travel and lived in Italy, where her father was stationed, as well as all over the United States. She met and married her beloved husband, Jack, of forty-eight years at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They only knew each other about two months when they were married, just three days past her 18^th birthday. This was truly a match made in Heaven. Johnnie Rae had two “Army Brats” of her own whom she raised all over the U.S. and in Germany. She even travelled to Uganda for a month on her own in 2003 to volunteer at a children’s orphanage.

Johnnie Rae was the current President of The White Mountain Camp of the Gideon’s International. She loved placing Gideon Bibles and Testaments around the area and in the hands of the area youths. She was also a Past President of both VFW Post 9907 Auxiliary and District 6 VFW Auxiliary President. Her legacy will live on for many years through her Spirit filled daughters, her prized granddaughters and grandsons, and the thousands of people she has touched around the world with her special gift of never meeting a stranger and sharing the love of Christ.

When she was first told she had lymphoma, Johnnie Rae stated that she was in a “win-win,” she would either be healed, or she would get to go home and be with Jesus. As one of her nephew’s so eloquently stated, “Johnnie Rae is the color that paints people’s lives….” And we will miss her!

She was preceded in death by her father, John J Stewart.

She is survived by her husband, Jack Latham of Show Low; children, Constance (Bobby) Ritter of Sugar Land, Texas, Beverly (John) Grannis of Show Low; her grandchildren, Bayne Grannis of Show Low, Phoenix Tafoya of Sugar Land, Texas, Izibella Grannis of Show Low, Ivy Grannis of Show Low, Jacob Ritter of Sugar Land, John Grannis of Show Low, Weston Ritter of Sugar Land and Helena Grannis of Show Low; her mother, Beverly Stewart of Sierra Vista, Arizona; sisters, Jackie (Howard) Evans of Sanford, North Carolina, Vickie (James) Kiser of Sierra Vista and Valorie (Andrew) Schlecht of Kindred, North Dakota; her Texas family, Phyllis (John) Latham of Bullard, Texas, Sherry (Lynn) Smith of Nacogdoches, Texas and Lisa (Claude) Smith of Richmond, Texas as well as her many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Johnnie Rae’s name to either The Gideon’s International of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.