Shirley Johnson (December 14, 1937 – January 14, 2021) was an American politician who was a member of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

from 1999 to 2006.

Early life and education

Johnson was born on December 14, 1937. He attended

Oakland Community College Oakland Community College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college with five campuses in Oakland County, Michigan. Established in 1964, OCC is the largest community college in Michigan, with the state's third-largest undergraduate enr ...

and

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

, and graduated from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

Career

On November 4, 1980, Johnson was elected to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

where she represented the 68th district from January 14, 1981, to 1992. On November 3, 1992, Johnson was again elected to the Michigan House of Representatives where she represented the 41st district from January 13, 1993, to 1998. On March 16, 1999, Johnson was elected to the

in a special election after the resignation of

Mike Bouchard Michael J. Bouchard (born April 12, 1956) is an American law enforcement officer and politician who has served as the sheriff of Oakland County, Michigan since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Bouchard previously served in the Michigan St ...

. In the state senate, she represented the 13th district and served from March 23, 1999, to 2006. Johnson left the Republican Party after leaving the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Article IV of the Michigan Con ...

Personal life

Johnson married Cliff in 1957. Together they had two children. Johnson was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

References

1937 births 2021 deaths Presbyterians from Michigan Michigan independents Michigan Republicans Women state legislators in Michigan Michigan state senators Oakland Community College alumni Wayne State University alumni Michigan State University alumni Members of the Michigan House of Representatives 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature 21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature {{Michigan-MISenate-stub