Joliet Councilwoman Bettye Gavin remembered her son, Jesse Johnson III, Wednesday afternoon as a “good son” whose faith in God helped him overcome a troubled period in his life.
Services are pending at the Minor-Morris Funeral Home in Joliet for Johnson, 44, who died Saturday after his semi-trailer truck hit the center median guardrail in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 Friday night near Tinley Park. He is survived by three children.
Johnson was a “quiet person” with a keen interest in the welfare of others, recalled Gavin, who’s also director of the Forest Park Community Center in Joliet.
“If he found out you needed anything, he tried to make that happen for you,” she said. “I’m still finding out good things.”
Referring to comments from those Johnson has touched, Gavin said, “I had no idea he had that kind of impact. It’s gratifying to know he was paying it forward.”
Johnson was born in Florida and moved with the family to Joliet, where he graduated in 1989 from Joliet West High School.
Not your typical middle child, he relished telling his older and younger sisters that, “I’m your big brother,” Gavin said.
He also was good at putting things into perspective, advising his mother to avoid getting hung up on negatives.
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“He would say, “Momma, if it’s not right, don’t think about it, don’t worry about it. God has a way of making things work out,'” Gavin said.
But that perspective came at a price. In 1992, Johnson ran seriously afoul of the law and was convicted of a felony drug charge.
It was “strong faith,” Gavin said, that helped him “through everything he went through.” Released from prison, he told his mother, “I so apologize.”
Gavin said the family took it in stride because “God has a way of making you quiet enough to hear him.”
Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter.