About Us

Our Story

Sidney Clyde Johnson started working in the funeral business in 1933 while he was in high school. Born in Hagerman (which is now inundated by Lake Texoma) on August 5, 1915, he attended school there and later in Denison. While still a student at Denison High School, he became an employee of Short-Murray Funeral Home. Later Lloyd Moore joined Short-Murray, which later became Bratcher-Moore.

During World War II, Mr. Johnson served in the Army Air Corps (Air Force) as a pilot. He was stationed in both the North African and European theatres. In 1956, he and Mr. Moore left Bratcher-Moore and formed the partnership of Johnson-Moore Funeral Home, Inc. Johnson’s eldest son, Tom, was 6 years old at the time, and earned a paycheck hammering nails in the back room of this building. He is now the funeral director in charge here.

The road west of Denison to Pottsboro (Hagerman) was a narrow, winding 2-lane road and Mr. Johnson was always worried about the residents of Pottsboro having to come to Denison for funerals and family nights. He wanted to have a place in Pottsboro so mourners wouldn’t have to make that trip. That dream was realized in 1985 when Johnson-Moore Pottsboro Chapel was opened.

He and Mrs. Johnson were very concerned with historic preservation and he was president of the Denison Historical Society. They bought and preserved the Thomas V. Munson home and were instrumental in obtaining the 2 historical markers that are on the house today. After the deaths of Mr. Johnson and his wife, the house was sold to Grayson County College to serve as a museum and conference center.

They were also instrumental in obtaining the statue of President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his birthplace, Denison, and the historical marker that is on St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Mr. Moore died suddenly in 1957, Mr. Johnson in 1993 and Mrs. Johnson in 2002. There are now 5 members of the Johnson family employed at the funeral home.