By Anne Cordeiro, Special to the Courier

In Liberty County, many know Luvenia Johnson by a different name.

They call her “Mother Johnson.”

It’s not just a nickname. It’s a role she has carried for decades through hardship, loss, long days of work and a lifetime spent making sure others were cared for.

At 79, Luvenia Reynolds Johnson’s story is one of resilience, faith and an unwavering commitment to her family.

Born in Washington County, Johnson grew up in a family of 14 siblings.

At 15, she married Robert Lewis Reynolds, 20.

“You know, sometimes you don’t be treated so well. But anyway, I was ready to get out the house, and so my mama planned me a wedding,” she said.

“My first husband, he had seen me and how I was treated, and he told his mama, ‘I’m gonna marry that girl.’” Luvenia and Robert were married for five years before welcoming their first child, Deloris.

Six more children followed in quick succession. Over the years, she has also experienced the loss of two children, something no parent expects to endure. Her early years of motherhood were marked by hard work and sacrifice.

“I used to work a lot in white people’s houses.

I kept their kids, cooked, and I picked cotton, peas, butter beans, squash,” she said. She recalls picking as much as 200 pounds of cotton a day by hand.

“It was hot,” she said, “but you were still out there with a long-sleeved shirt and a straw hat. You had to make a living.”

Even with the demands of work, her focus never wavered.

“No matter how tired she would be, she would always make sure that her family had a hot meal on the table,” said her pastor, Richard Hayes of New Day Community Church.

Johnson said her children were never without food or clothes. The owner of the farm where she and Robert lived and worked often shared meat from livestock, helping them stretch what they had. When the family needed money for shoes or other necessities, the couple worked extra on Sundays.

Providing for her children was not just a responsibility -- it was her purpose.

In between raising children, working and caring for others, Johnson also made time for simple joys, including singing and fishing.

“When I would go fishing, I would go all day,” she said. She remembers long days fishing with her sister. “We would come back with five-gallon buckets full of fish. I miss that.”

Today, all but one of her 14 siblings are still living, and her family includes 20 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Photos of them cover the walls of her living room.

“I love my kids, my grandkids, and my great grandkids. Sometimes my great grandkids get on my nerves, but I still love them,” she said, laughing.

Seventeen years ago, Johnson followed her children to Liberty County.

“All of my children had moved down here. So, I decided to come down here. None of them were where I was,” she said.

But her role as “Mother” extends beyond her own family. Neighbors, church members and friends know Johnson as someone who shares what she has. During harvest seasons, she has given away vegetables from her garden. At church gatherings, she shares her cooking — cream cheese pound cake, Brunswick stew, chitlins, homemade biscuits and more.

She has also passed along the art of canning and preserving fruits and vegetables, a skill she learned as a young woman. She would fill large tin tubs with pears, peaches or whatever was in season, working until every last piece was preserved.

Her generosity is simply a way of life — as is her faith.

“I wake up every morning about 5:30 a.m. and I do my prayer … I always do my prayer first before I get out of the bed,” she said. “When I got saved, I backslid one time, and I promised the Lord I would never do it again. So, I don’t. He’s kept me here 79 years, and that’s a blessing.”

At New Day Community Church, she serves as a senior usher, greeting each person with warmth and encouragement.

Whether through a kind word, a prayer or a meal, she continues to care for those around her, said her paster Luvenia’s life reflects a generation of women whose work often went unrecognized - laboring in fields, homes and communities without formal acknowledgment or financial security. Yet through it all, Johnson remained focused on what mattered most: caring for her family and helping others along the way.

Her own mother lived nearly 100 years, passing in 2023, a legacy of strength that continues in her daughter.

“She has dedicated her days to ensuring that her family and the family God placed along her path are well taken care of,” Hayes said.

Ask Johnson the secret to life, and her answer is simple.

“You’ve got to learn to treat everybody right. Show some love to people. Even if they don’t like you, you treat them nice. Be kind to them.”

It’s a lesson she has lived every day as a mother, not only to her children, but to everyone fortunate enough to know her.

She laughs easily, often with a soft giggle, and carries herself with both humility and quiet strength.

It’s easy to see why in Liberty County, they call her “Mother Johnson.”

For many, that’s exactly who she has been.