Cover photo for James Johnstone Dawson Jr.'s Obituary
James Johnstone Dawson Jr. Profile Photo
1931 James 2019

James Johnstone Dawson Jr.

January 7, 1931 — July 19, 2019

James (“J.J.”) J. Dawson, Jr. of Clinton, MD passed away on Friday, July 19, 2019 at the age of 88. He was born in Jersey City, NJ on January 7, 1931 to Martha Blanche (Hayden) and James J. Dawson. He had three sisters Rosemary, Dorothy, and Miriam. He moved to Washington, DC at a young age and went on to join the Naval Reserves at 17. After a year in the Navy he transferred to the Marine Corps Reserves briefly before being activated to serve in Korea. After more than six years in the Marines he transferred to the Air Force as a hydraulic airplane mechanic where he served until his retirement in 1973 at the rank of Senior Master Sergeant. Anyone who knew him will remember that he loved to tell stories of his time in places such as Japan, Korea, Thailand, Okinawa, and Indonesia. His devotion to his country and to military service was passed on to three sons and three grandchildren who collectively serve or have served in four of the armed service branches (Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy). After a brief stint selling real estate he worked for the Washington Metro as a train mechanic and ultimately as a maintenance supervisor before he once again retired in early 1995. James met the love of his life, Kathleen O’Donnell, in 1948 and they married in 1951. From this union they had seven children James Johnstone II, Neal Daniel, Shawn Patrick, Glen Michael, Sharon Edna, Colin William, and Kenneth Brian. They would have celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary in September. James is preceded in death by parents; sisters Rosemary and Dorothy; son, Shawn; and great granddaughter, Savannah. He is survived by his loving wife, Kathleen; sister, Miriam; and children James (Helen), Neal (Terry), Glen, Sharon, Colin, and Ken (Beth). He is also survived by thirteen grandchildren (Jenny, Crosby, Daniel, James Johnstone IV (Irina), Kyle, Neal, Kara, Julianna (Connor), Emma, Sarah, Kaden, Kameron, and Avery) and three great grandchildren (Jacob, Colton, Konnor) with another due in August. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in James’ memory to the Wounded Warriors Project, Mission 22, or to a veteran’s charity of your choice. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of James Johnstone Dawson Jr. please visit our Sympathy Store.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of James Johnstone Dawson Jr., please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Saturday, July 27, 2019

1:00 - 3:00 pm (Eastern time)

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Funeral Service

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Starts at 3:00 pm (Eastern time)

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Interment and Honors

Friday, December 27, 2019

Starts at 3:00 pm (Eastern time)

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Guestbook

Visits: 37

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree