Tom retires - a special Memorial Day weekend!

The Johnson family had a busy, emotional Memorial Day weekend! Before I begin the account of activities surrounding Tom's retirement, I need to pay my written respects to Major Wayne Culver who was recently killed in Afghanistan. Major Culver was an active member of our church, St. Paul United Methodist, and an involved citizen of El Dorado and Union County. His remains were returned to town on Memorial Day and the route taken by his funeral procession was lined with hundreds of people, waving flags and wearing red, white, and blue, who chose to spend their holiday honoring his sacrifice for our country! I have never been prouder to be an American and a member of the El Dorado community.


The wonderful people at Goodwin Animal Hospital gave a retirement reception for Tom on the afternoon of May 29th. (Also Julie and John Paul's 11th anniversary!) Daryl and Suzanne Parker, both veterinarians, are buying Tom's share of the practice.

Daryl's mother made this amazing cake - and it tasted just as good as it looked!
The guest of honor was served the first slice!





Tom took a lot of grief over the dozen roses sent to him by a female client. Truth be told, they were from her entire family but Daryl liked the story better the other way! I am hoping to be able to get an artificial arrangement made for the container because it is so cute!

I love this picture of Tom and Charlie just being Tom and Charlie. Tom has remarked multiple times over the years how lucky he was that circumstances gave him Charlie as his partner. They met at the University of Arkansas when both were pre-vet students. They had a technical writing class together. I met Charlie when I went with Tom to Oklahoma State while he was going through the interview process. The applicants with J last names were told to be there at a certain time and the three of us sat nervously in a small room waiting for the grilling to follow. Tom was accepted at LSU and two years later Charlie was accepted there also. I remember how happy Tom was when he saw Charlie's name on the list of incoming students! Charlie's father-in-law was a practicing veterinarian and, when it was Tom's turn to graduate, Charlie introduced him to his wife's father, Dr. Don Goodwin, who was looking for an associate. That is how the Johnsons ended up in El Dorado! Charlie and his wife, Kerry, also have four children. (As a matter of fact, Kerry and I were pregnant together and attended the classes at Women's Hospital together before our last babies were born.) Both Tom and Charlie are dedicated veterinarians but each is an even more dedicated family man! They were an amazing team as they juggled times off and early departures to be sure that neither man had to miss a child's activity. I don't think El Dorado has ever gotten over the shock of having Goodwin Animal Clinc close early during football season the year Charlie's youngest played and Jimmy was coaching!

Here is Tom with Ruth Goodwin, Dr. Goodwin's wife and Kerry Jackson's mother. Dr. Goodwin was also at the retirement celebration but none of the pictures of him turned out well enough to "publish". We do appreciate his attendance! The plaque Tom and Mrs. Goodwin are holding reads:

Goodwin Animal Clinic was the first animal clinic in El Dorado. It was founded by DR. DON GOODWIN in 1946 as a clinic for both large and small animals. When Dr. Goodwin retired in 1983, DR. CHARLIE JACKSON and DR. TOM JOHNSON became owners. In 2002, a new facility was built directly behind the original building. The new clinic was exclusively for small animals. When Dr. Johnson retired in 2010, DRS. DARYL and SUZANNE PARKER joined Dr. Jackson as co-owners.

Many more people showed up for the party than Tom had expected. Here is Maddy entertaining Kay Patterson, long-time family friend and client. Yes, that is Hannah looking on.

To keep small children (our grandchildren and the Parker sisters) entertained, Stephen organized science lessons in the back of the clinic. Way to go, Stephen! Here Emma Parker listens to Kate's heart.

On Saturday morning, before the party, there was a softball game played in our "back 40". It had been long-planned and Lanie's friend, Emma, came to El Dorado from Little Rock because a game was promised! I got lots of cute pictures that morning and will post a few of them. Unfortunately, Tom pulled a hamstring big time as he tried to tag Lanie out (She was safe!) and that put an early end to the action. I still can't believe Tom managed to put on his "game face" and actually seemed to have fun at his party and the family shrimp boil afterwards. (I'll post a few pictures of that in my next post.) His leg looks AWFUL now and I will spare you seeing the pictures I have taken of it! Today, Wednesday, he is moving more slowly than he has since the injury. I sure hope he has not overdone things. At the time, Dr. Fussell thought her patient was going to faint on her and was pushing for a trip to the ER for pain management. Of course, Tom would have none of that. He was the recipient of much advice, as you can imagine the father of two doctors and one coach who is also the father-in-law of a physical therapist, a doctor, and a coach would be! (Julie, John Paul, and I wisely kept our mouths shut!)

Anyway, here is Lanie swinging for the fences!

Here is my sister, Barbara, as she plays in the outfield.

On Friday night, DanMan had a baseball game. He has just recently been playing some catcher. He looks comfortable but his Nannah isn't! If you look closely, you can see that he is wearing a black arm band on his right wrist. The major who was recently killed in Afghanistan was an employee of Amercable, the company who sponsors DanMan's team. The boys and their coaches wore the bands in his honor.

You will see Jill holding Kate in the photo below. The Fussells got to El Dorado in time to watch DanMan play. Kate thought it was so cool that her cousin was right there at the plate that she would stand just behind the fence in admiration. Jillers decided that might distract our little catcher and invited Kate to take a seat.