Mrs. Mattie Mae Johnson
The Celebration of Life for Mrs. Mattie Mae Johnson, 85, of Manor, Texas, former Orange resident and owner of M & S Floral, will be Saturday, October 25, 2025, at 10 am at the Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
Rites of Christian Burial will follow at Magnolia Memorial Gardens under the direction of Sparrow Funeral Home.
Visitation will be from 9 until 10 am.
Mattie Mae Hubbard Johnson was born to Jimmie and Elena Hubbard on August 4, 1940, in Center, Texas.
The family later moved to Orange, Texas, where Mattie attended Wallace High School. She met and married Nathaniel Warnell, Jr., with whom she had her firstborn daughter, Shenita Warnell, as well as Nathan Warnell, Gerald Warnell, and Michael Warnell.
She found love again and married Monroe Brown Sr., with whom she mothered, Monroe Brown Jr., Jessie Brown, and James Brown. They were blessed together to have Silvia (Brown) Patridge. After the death of Monroe Brown Sr, she was blessed with Gikeitha Brown and Kerry Bennett.
In her later years, she shared a loving marriage with Daniel Johnson and adopted their grandchild, Nekisha Warnell Johnson.
Upon moving to Orange, Mattie became an active member of Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church. She worked diligently as the president of the Senior Usher Board and founded the church’s first men’s Usher Board. She also sang in the Senior and Mass Choirs, serving as president of the Senior Choir as well as the gospel singing group, The Mount Calvary Harmonettes. Additionally, she served as the church decorator and youth coordinator.
After marrying Daniel Johnson, Mattie became a member of Mount Olive Baptist Church, where she started the Women’s Fashion Hat Shows.
Mattie was a master of many crafts, approaching every new project with a rare combination of passion, skill, boundless energy, and a commitment to perfection. She was truly altruistic, always helping others with a quiet and uncomplaining spirit. She enjoyed cooking and worked as a cook in the cafeteria at North Elementary School. She also shared her culinary talents with several local businesses. Additionally, Mattie drove the school bus and worked alongside her mother, Elena Henderson, and Junior Henderson at their family-owned service station on 16th Street in Orange, Texas.
Mattie also engaged in entrepreneurship by selling Tiara Glassware and Mary Kay Cosmetics. She then ventured out and used her “God”-given talent to open her own floral shop business, known as M&S Floral.
She leaves to cherish her memory: Five daughters: Shenita Warnell, Silvia Brown (Patridge), Gikeitha Brown, Nekisha Warnell, and Jessie Lee Brown; Four sons: Gerald Warnell, Michael Warnell(Margaret), Kerry Bennett, and James Brown Sr.(Minister LaNita), Daughter In-law(Minnie Brown); Thirty-two Grandchildren, Forty-three Great-Grandchildren; Five Great-Great-Grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings’ children, Nette Hubbard, Tammie Hubbard, Dana Smith, Kataya Allen, Prince Oliver, Jason Hubbard, Bernard Marks, and a host of other family and friends.
Mattie was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, and two sons, Nathan Warnell Sr. and Monroe Brown Jr., her brothers, Archie Hubbard, Lee Hubbard, and David Hubbard, and two grandsons, Marcus Warnell and Nathan Warnell Jr.
Social Media