Modesta Irene Roots

MODESTA IRENE ROOTS A CHARISMATIC DAUGHTER, SISTER, AUNT, AND FRIEND WAS BORN TO WILLIE JAMES JOHNSON SR. AND SAVANNAH ROOTS (BOTH OF WHOM PRECEDED HER IN DEATH) ON APRIL 20, 1955, IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. 

MARTY WAS LOVING, ENERGETIC, AND OUTGOING. MARTY ACCEPTED CHRIST IN HER LIFE IN 2004. SHE WAS AN ACTIVE MEMBER AT UNIVERSITY AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH WHERE SHE SERVED PROUDLY ON THE USHER BOARD. SHE ENJOYED GOING TO SUNDAY SCHOOL AND COULD OFTEN BE HEARD SINGING “COME BY HERE MY LORD.” 

IN HIGH SCHOOL, SHE WAS HENRIETTA HORNET AT LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL IN SAN DIEGO, CA. SHE LOVED BEING HENRIETTA. SHE FORGED SOME LIFETIME FRIENDSHIPS. MARTY AND HER TWO CLOSEST FRIENDS, JOYCE BELL AND PATRICIA RUDDER ALWAYS MADE TIME FOR EACH OTHER AND TRAVELED. THESE THREE WERE INSEPARABLE AND MADE EVERY EFFORT TO CATCH UP WITH THEIR CLASSMATES FOR EVERY REUNION. SHE RECENTLY CELEBRATED HER 50TH HIGH SCHOOL REUNION. 

MODESTA WORKED FOR DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS THE CRISIS CENTER AND THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY. HER MOST RECENT PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT WAS WITH IN-HOME SUPPORT SERVICES (IHSS) IN SAN DIEGO WHERE SHE CARED FOR THE ELDERLY AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. SHE HAD THE HEART FOR BEING OF SERVICE TO OTHERS. 

MARTY WAS A PILLAR IN HER COMMUNITY. SHE DID NOT TURN HER BACK ON ANYONE. SHE WAS READY TO CELEBRATE EVERYONE’S LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS. SHE WAS QUICK-WITTED; HER SASS WAS UNMATCHED. SHE WAS GOOD AT GIVING NICKNAMES EVEN IF YOU DIDN’T LIKE THEM. MARTY LOVED HARD. SHE DID NOT HAVE KIDS OF HER OWN, BUT YOUR KIDS WERE HER KIDS. SHE TOOK PRIDE IN BEING AROUND HER FAMILY. SHE NEVER DROVE A CAR, BUT BEST BELIEVE SHE WAS GETTING TO THE PARTY. YOU HAD TO BE READY FOR A GAME OF DOMINOES, SPADES, AND ANY OTHER GAME YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD PLAY. SHE WAS IN IT TO WIN IT. HER TALK WAS ALWAYS LOUDER THAN YOURS. 

ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2023, MODESTA WAS WELCOMED TO HER HEAVENLY HOME WITH CHRIST BY HER SIDE. SHE LEAVES TO MOURN HER DEPARTURE: HER SISTERS LORRAINE JOHNSON, FLORENDA THOMPSON, ROSALIND LEWIS, RHONDA GOODE, LISA ROJAS, VALENA JOHNSON BURKES, AND JEANETTE ROSE JOHNSON; HER BROTHERS, JIMMY ROOTS SR., ELTON ANDERSON (REMY), WILLIE JAMES JOHNSON JR. (JUNE), LENNY CARL JOHNSON SR. (STACEY), AND EDDIE RAY JOHNSON; A HOST OF NIECES, NEPHEWS, GREAT-NIECES, GREAT-NEPHEWS, AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS. SHE WAS ALSO LOVED BY THOSE SIBLINGS WHO PRECEDED HER IN DEATH: GLORY THORNTON, JAMMIE ROOTS, ANTHONY REED JOHNSON, DAVID MICHAEL JOHNSON, AND ALFRED CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON. 

THE FAMILY OF MODESTA “MARTY” ROOTS WISHES TO ACKNOWLEDGE WITH DEEP APPRECIATION THE MANY COMFORTING MESSAGES, FLORAL TRIBUTES, PRAYERS, AND MANY OTHER EXPRESSIONS OF KINDNESS. 

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