Dotty Johnson

Dotty Johnson was born in Memphis, December 30, 1941, and was raised on a farm in Braggadocio, MO. Her parents Frank Long, Jr. and Dorothy L. (Coppage) Long, were farmers and ran a bank in town while running a gin, growing cotton and beans, and raising cattle and chickens. Dotty loved horses growing up and her favorite was ‘Dinah”.

She attended the University of Miami in Florida, spent a summer at Memphis State and a year at the University of Mississippi before transferring to the University of Missouri in Columbia. There she met and married Joe Johnson. Joe graduated from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (MSM) in Rollo, Mo. (became the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T in 2008), graduating in 1963.

Joe worked in St. Louis for three years and they then decided it was time to move back south. Joe came to Memphis to work for Pigeon Thomas on Main/Lamar.

Lisa Robertson is her surviving daughter. Dotty has three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.  Her hobby is sewing and piecing quilts. Dotty and Joe were married 59 years and Joe passed away on January 5, 2021. Her son, Earl Frank Johnson, passed away in the fall of 2021.

Dotty began her work with the city in 1989 as a part-time secretary for acting City Administrator Patrick Lawton. She became full-time in 1990.  She later moved to Court as Court Clerk. After several years there, she moved back to Administration where she retired as City Clerk in 2016.  During her time with the city, Dotty enjoyed her work with the Aldermen. Dotty also spoke highly of employees Pat McConnell, Delores Mitchell, and Judy Simerson.