Madison Middle School is looking to honor the memory of Lisa Johnson, someone who made everyone feel welcomed and loved at the school.

Principal Joey Eidson said Lisa (pictured below) was the heart and soul of Madison Middle School. Eidson said Lisa welcomed every single family and student to the building while assuming the role of registrar for the school. He said every child that enrolled at Madison came to Lisa Johnson; she was the face of Madison.

Lisa checked on students every day to make sure they were acclimating well and felt comfortable. Eidson said Lisa's smile and hugs were legendary to those who needed it. He said she also knew every single thing about the school and made everything operate smoothly.

After a long fight with cancer, Lisa passed away on Tuesday, July 7th, 2020. Madison Middle School is going to honor Lisa by naming the sidewalk from the back of Madison to the neighborhood where she lived the "Lisa G Johnson Parkway." Madison will be placing cedar arches on both ends of the parkway with inscribed metal naming it the "Lisa Johnson Parkway." The school will be receiving the wood at cost and the labor for all of it will be free. In the middle of the parkway, Ed John will create a Bruin themed sign.

Lisa and her husband Rick attended Madison Middle School as students and graduated from Sooner High, which is now the new Madison on Baylor Drive. Eidson said Lisa and Rick are Madison. He said Lisa meant the world to him and the entire Madison family.

Seeing the parkway constructed between their neighborhood and Madison meant a lot to Lisa and her husband. Rick said it meant a lot to Lisa to have access from the neighborhood to the school for their kids and the kids that lived around them. He said their three daughters would joke about the parkway being called the "Lisa G. Johnson Parkway," and they would joke about it with them, but deep down they knew in their hearts that they would always call the parkway the LGJ Parkway.

One day Eidson came to Rick saying that the Parent Support Association (PSA) and the Bartlesville School district would like to do something in memory of Lisa. Rick knew immediately that the walkway project would be a perfect way to honor Lisa. He said he knew they would come up with some great ideas to make the project what it is going to be, and that there would be students that would be upheld with her name and what she represented. The hope is that people will walk the path with ease and peace because Lisa put people at ease and gave them unfathomable peace.

Rick, an educator at Madison, said he got to see Lisa's impact as a co-worker and a husband. Rick said he could see at school and at home how much each student at Madison meant to her. He said his wife always wanted to do right by the kids and make sure they were all being taken care of, going to any extreme to ensure that any student that passed her desk felt loved and had the opportunity to do something great.

Coming to middle school is not easy, especially when you come to middle school in the middle of the year. Edison said Lisa would check on newly enrolled children to make sure they knew how to open their locker and where their classes were. He said Lisa would even find other students in the school that would be the new kid's buddy, someone that would show them around and eat lunch with them.

In addition to the parkway, Lisa and her family wanted to give an award to an eighth grader each year that is "kind, selfless, a team player, and humble."

Rick said they are calling it the Lisa G. Johnson award. He said grades will not be a determining factor. Rather, they will determine whether a student's heart is in the right place because that is what mattered most to Lisa. The award will be displayed in the school and come with a cash award to the student.

Towards the end of Lisa's battle with cancer, Rick said he sat down with her and their family to see what it would mean to her to have an eighth grade award at Madison and what it would represent. Rick said what they are doing is everything Lisa wanted it to be. He said she wanted something that would affect kids in a positive way, and they're doing that.

It isn't easy, but Rick said it makes his heart warm and happy that they are able to honor Lisa the way that they should. He thanks all the people at Madison, the Bartlesville School district, the PSA, and the community for their support. All of Rick's love and appreciation went out to those that were there for his family.

A stone on the Pathfinder Parkway with a verse inscribed is the final thing Madison Middle School would like to provide to honor Lisa and her family. Madison is looking to raise a minimum of $5,000 to make all of this happen. All money raised will go through the PSA. You can drop off a check at the school and it will be delivered to the PSA. All donations are tax deductible. You can mail your donation to:

MMS PSA

5900 Baylor Drive

Bartlesville, OK 74006

Memo: Lisa