Trailblazing Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, who set multiple historical benchmarks during her distinguished career in Dallas and Washington, has died. She was 88.
Before Johnson retired at 87, she had become North Texas’ most powerful Democrat during her unimpeachable 30-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives, CBS Dallas reports.
According to the “Dallas Morning News,” a series of services commemorating Johnson’s historic life commences on Jan. 8, 2024, with a viewing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fair Park. There will also be a prayer service from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Concord Church, 6808 Pastor Bailey Drive.
Johnson’s funeral service is scheduled to take place on Jan. 9 at 10 a.m., also at Concord Church. Finally, Johnson will be laid to rest on Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. at Texas State Cemetery in Austin, the state capital, which is a three-hour drive south of Dallas.
A series of firsts punctuate the Texas representative’s illustrious career in medicine and politics. She became the first African American to serve as chief psychiatric nurse at Dallas’ VA hospital. She was also the first African American from Dallas to serve in the Texas Senate since Reconstruction.
Moreover, Johnson was the first registered nurse elected to Congress and later became the first Black woman to chair the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
Johnson represented downtown Dallas for most of her career in the House from 1992-2023. She was also the oldest representative when she retired last year at 87.
“She gave her life to this community,” her son Dawrence Kirk Johnson, Sr. told the “Dallas Morning News.” “She gave Dallas all she had to give.”
