Leah Johnson (Blackston)

Leah Virginia Blackston-Johnson, was born on October 24, 1930, to the late Isaac and Essie Blackston, in Milford, Delaware, one of eight children. She transitioned on October 14, 2020, in Camden, New Jersey. Leah matriculated through Milford schools and graduated from Delaware State High School. Throughout her life she always strived for greater. While on her journey through life she married Donald Oswald Griffin, and from that union came Paula, Leah Denise and Mahala. Her daughters were her world. She understood the importance of raising her girls and understood how necessary it was to instill in them the desire of always doing their best. As she continued on her journey, Leah and her daughters moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and worked a full-time job, while attending Leon Sullivan OIC School. Once she completed the program and passed the civil service test, Leah was able to obtain a full-time position with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she served for over 25 years. Leah’s siblings were a great help to her during her stay in Philadelphia. Her brother, Samuel and his wife Eloise, would travel to Philly, to pick up her three young girls, every summer, for the entire summer. Her sister Sarah Sorden and her husband George would open their homes as well, and their children, Brenda, Violet and Arinthia did not mind sharing their beds with their cousins from the city. Leah had a pleasant spirit and was a woman of integrity and strong character. She was hardworking, trustworthy and generous. She walked with her head held high, even when her spirits were low. She enjoyed being a member of Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the Mass Choir. She later rejoined her home church, St Paul United Methodist Church, in Milford, Delaware. Leah met and married Master Sergeant James Oliver Johnson. They relocated to Camden, New Jersey and later to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where they lived until they retired. After the passing of her husband, Leah returned to New Jersey, but always desired to return to her hometown of Milford, which is now her final resting place. Leah leaves to mourn, her brother, Samuel Blackston and his wife, Eloise; devoted children, Paula Elizabeth Duffy, Leah Denise Hicks and Mahala Bernetta Pratt (Chaka Pratt); six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren and beloved friend, Catherine Donaldson. It is because of this beautiful life which was here, that we are given the great assurance that her thoughts, through silent, were always heavenly things that she felt it was her duty to: “So live, that when thy summons comes to join the innumerable caravan which moves. To that mysterious realm where each shall take. His chamber in the silent halls of death, thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night. Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed. By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave. Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."

Leah Johnson (Blackston)

October 24, 1930 - October 14, 2020