About Mrs. Sandra Mayeux Johnson
Born and raised in Lafayette, Sandra was a 1960 graduate from Mount Carmel High School and went on to obtain a bachelors degree in Sociology from Southwestern University. She later attended Loyola University. She loved to tell the story of attending Loyola and taking and struggling thru a Philosophy class with a Jesuit Priest who told her “Ms. Johnson, I’m sorry to inform you, but you are not college material.” She said, “Father, you may be right, but its difficult for me to accept because I am currently a college Senior.”
She married in 1963 and moved to South Plaquemines Parish in 1969. Shortly thereafter, Hurricane Camille struck the area and teachers were desperately needed. Sandra was recruited to serve her community — thus beginning a 32-year career as a primary school teacher with the Plaquemines Parish School System. She later went back to school and earned a degree in Elementary Education from Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans.
As an avid educator for more than 30 years, Sandra was committed to the education of young people. Teaching primary reading was her true calling. She retired as a primary school teacher with the Plaquemines Parish School System.
Education of her own children and grandchildren was of paramount importance to her. We were all required to get an education. There was simply no question about it. She was also a proponent of an education for women. She believed that women were the backbone of the family and that an educated woman educated a family and lifted a community. She always said that the girls needed an education in order to stand on their own two feet should something happened to their husband. Education and a profession allowed a woman to support themselves and be independent.
It is in that vein that we have established this Memorial Fund. It is our desire to provide a scholarship to a student in need to attend Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans. Sandra was very proud of her Mount Carmel start and belief that all young women deserve a strong education.
Thank you for considering to support this Memorial fund in our mother’s name to pass along the gift of an education to another worthy young woman.
- Cherie Johnson Hebert, Jill Johnson Vallot and John Carroll Johnson
