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Obituary submitted by the family.

G

ry Neal Johnston, 76, of New Bern, went home to be with his Lord on Saturday, April 30, 2022. Gary was born January 11, 1946 to the late Roland and Martha Johnston. He was born in Dublin, Ohio, graduated from Dublin High School, Ohio State University and the University of Nebraska.

He joined the Navy and served in Vietnam.

Gary Johnston

He was employed by Continental Grain Co. He moved to Great Falls, Montana to join Montana Merchandising Co. where he took the position of Vice President. After the company sold in 1990, he moved to Lima, Ohio and took a position as a commodities broker. In 1997, he moved to Oriental, NC where he took a position as a sailboat broker. He retired in 2008 and later moved to New Bern.

He was an avid sailor, first on a sailboat and later on a trawler. He raced with the Oriental Dinghy Club. He sailed our sailboat as far north as Maine and back. After switching to the trawler, he cruised the Outer Banks of NC, the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River. He cruised one half of the Great Loop, sailing through the Erie Canal into Canada through the Trent Severn Canal to Lake Erie. Then cruised back home.

He is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, Alice Johnston; step children, Robert (Claudia) Heisner, June (Mike) Carrasco, Laurie (David) Needham, and Cheryl Johnston; grandchildren, Jeremy, Trevor, and Jake Needham, Paytyn and Cheyanne Johnston, Hayden and Kirsten Heisner; great grandchildren; Mia Jacobi, Jordan Johnston and Adrian Santiago; brother David (Cheryl) Johnston and nieces Tarah, Hailey and Leeann Johnston.

He is preceded in death by his parents Roland and Eileen (Shriver) Johnston and by granddaughter Jordan B. Johnston.

He volunteered for the Jobs for Life Program and Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace program.

He was past Commodore of the Oriental Dinghy Club.

A Celebration of Gary’s Life will be held At Temple Church, 1500 Kingdom Way, New Bern, NC. Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 11a. Visitation will be at 10a.

In lieu of flowers send donations to:
Temple Church
1500 Kingdom Way
New Bern, NC 28560
Community Care Hospice
1423 Glenburnie Rd.
New Bern, NC 28562

Posted Friday May 6, 2022 by Allison DeWeese