Johnny Eugene Queen

Early on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, Johnny Queen awoke in the presence of Jesus. Following two years of declining health he succumbed to untreatable heart failure. Johnny Eugene Queen was born at home in Maiden, N.C., on May 4, 1940, to Wayne Frank Queen and Myrtle Little Queen. He was the sixth of eight children. When he was six years old he was stricken with spinal meningitis and missed a year of school. He played baseball in high school and worked after school and weekends. When he graduated from Maiden High School, he moved to Stone Mountain, Ga. Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1963, he served in a missile unit near the DMZ in South Korea. After his discharge he moved to Jacksonville, Fla., as a sales representative for a large company and became a top salesman. In July 1966 he met his future wife, Laura Reynolds, at Jacksonville Beach. He asked her out and she invited him to church. On their first date he told her he could do something no one else could do; make her a Queen. And he did, on July 1, 1967. Shortly after they moved to Milledgeville, Ga., where he managed a large family shoe store. Eventually he was made a partner in the business which grew to seven stores in Georgia and Florida. Their son, Scott Matthew, was born on Johnny's birthday in 1968. Their daughter, Christy Joy, was born in 1970 and daughter Julie Dee was born in 1974. In 1974 the family moved to Tallahassee, Fla., for the shoe business. Soon the partnership dissolved and Johnny bought Barfield Shoes, renaming them Johnny Queen Shoes, and opened Connie Shoes. Connie Shoes was the only independently owned shoe store in Governor's Square when the mall opened. He was a great shoe salesman, but he could sell anything from shoes to sporting goods to chemicals to Peterbilt trucks to ideas. He had a big personality, charmed people, was always smiling and joking. He loved to tell stories of his childhood and especially "Poovey" stories. His favorite things were his wife and children, friends, grandchildren, reading, sports, travel and trying new restaurants. Although raised in a Christian home and in church, while attending a revival in McIntyre, Ga., in the late 1960s he received Christ as his savior. Throughout his adult life he served in various positions of Christian leadership. He was an ordained deacon, trustee, board member of several ministries, youth leader and friend to pastors, evangelists and missionaries. His generosity and hospitality are remembered by all whose lives he touched. He often quoted the verse Psalm 37:25, "I have been young and now I am old, but I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread." In his last days he would "sing" He is near. Johnny was preceded in death by his parents and all seven siblings. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Laura; his son, Scott Queen; and daughters, Christy Grant (Carter) and Julie Blount. He is also survived by the grandchildren he adored, Sean, Camryn, Jared, Asia, Jace and Luke, as well and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at the National Cemetery in Tallahassee at a later date, please check back for final arrangements.

Johnny Eugene Queen

May 1, 1940 - January 7, 2024