After battling cancer, Lou (Carter) Johnson, aged 85, passed away peacefully at her La Vernia home on January 24, 2026. Lou was born to Ben and Julia Wallace Owens on March 24, 1940, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her adoptive parents were William “Bill” and Victoria Wallace of Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Lou attended classes at the College of William and Mary before enlisting in the United States Army in 1966. While in the Army, Lou met her late husband, C.R. “Buddy” Carter. She left the Army as an E-5 (Sergeant). Lou was attached to the 5th Army Headquarters at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio. After her service, Lou worked various secretarial and sales jobs. Lou and Buddy settled in Sutherland Springs with their son, Sam. In 1988, Lou married Mark Johnson and moved to La Vernia where she became very involved in Mark’s political career as County Commissioner. Lou loved preparing old family recipes and entertaining. She loved every element of it, from planning to decorating to cooking. One of her favorite pastimes was flower arranging whether fresh or silk. There was never a season that went by without Lou decorating the house from wreaths on the front porch to new tablecloths in the season’s colors laid out with matching dishes awaiting family and friends. Even in her last days she made sure that the Easter and Spring decorations were put out. Lou especially loved her grandchildren talking to them almost daily and walking down memory lane of the fun times they had as children. She loved the beach and sitting on her back porch watching the birds and squirrels, and feeding the various critters that showed up at the house. Whether it was a fox or a rabbit, Lou wanted them fed and taken care of.

Lou is preceded in death by her birth parents and adoptive parents, brother, Jimmy Owens, and husband, Buddy Carter. She is survived by her loving husband of 37 years, Mark Johnson, her son Sam Carter and wife Amy, step-children M’Linda Lord, Gregory Johnson and wife Felicia, Brandi Johnson, grandchildren Tori and Royce Carter, Scott and William Rowe, Lyndon Johnson, sister Wanda Heaton and husband Don, and various nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held at 9:30 am at the First Baptist Church of Floresville on January 30, 2026 and a service will begin at 10:00 am.  Interment to follow at Sutherland Springs City Cemetery.