CANTON − Tina Johnson was single, studying theology at Malone University and working part time at Aultman Hospital in the fall of 2002.
The 29-year-old had never lived on her own, save for a year when she helped care for her ailing grandmother.
Little did she know that life was about to place her on a trajectory to becoming a homeowner through Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio. A house became a necessity after she assumed custody of her four young cousins following the death of their mother.
More than two decades later, Johnson recently paid off the mortgage on that four-bedroom Habitat home. She took part in a celebratory “bell-ringing” ceremony at Habitat’s offices in March.
Courtney Brown, the chapter’s director of the Family & Faith Partnership, said that of the 600-plus houses the chapter has built, 261 mortgages have been paid off.
At a family gathering two decades ago, Johnson learned that her cousin, Marcy Kendall of Canton, had cancer.
“We didn’t know at that time it was terminal,” she said. “That’s how God works. She and I really weren’t speaking, to tell you the honest truth. We had lost contact with one another for different reasons. We found out she had not been around the family because she had gotten so sick.”
Tina Johnson’s faith guided her
Johnson visited Kendall to express her concern.
“It was kind of like, ‘I’m so sorry, I hope everything works out,'” she recalled. “Kind of nonchalantly, not involved, not understanding, like, (my) life is about to change. And so it went from …. praying, to, ‘Someone needs to stay with the kids, and you’re the only person without children and a husband. So, can it be you?'”
Shortly before Kendall died, Johnson agreed to move in temporarily with her children in their apartment in the C.H.I.P.S. public housing complex.
Tina Johnson of Canton and the four young cousins she took custody of after their mother died in 2002, leading Johnson to purchase a Habitat home. Johnson paid off the home this spring.
At the time, they were 16, 14, 12 and 9.
What Johnson thought would be a temporary arrangement took a turn when Kendall died four months later at age 30.
Overwhelmed, Johnson said she turned to her faith.
“I went to my mom’s house and just talked to the Lord. I’ll never forget it,” she said. “I was sitting at the dining room table, and I said, ‘Who is going to take care of these kids?’ and he was like, ‘You’re gonna raise these kids.’ I heard it just as clear as day.”
Prior to her death, Kendall signed over legal custody of her children.
The Kendall siblings said they’d seen Johnson at family gatherings, but didn’t know her well.
“When kids are little, they think of ‘cousins’ as people their own age,” Johnson said. “They really were getting to know me and and trust me, you know, ‘Is she going to be who she says, and is it gonna stay the same?’ I had to learn a lot on my feet.”
Turning to Habitat of Humanity for help
Habitat homeowner Tina Johnson of Canton at her bell-ringing ceremony in March, marking that she’s paid off her house, which she bought in 2002 to house four young cousins that she assumed custody of after their mother died.
Johnson said she was naive about homeownership — like the time she found her “dream” house in historic Ridgewood neighborhood.
“I remember I was talking to the owner. The listing was $220,000,” she said. “He said, ‘If there was anything I could do for you, I would.’ But of course, you know you’re not ready. You’re nowhere near ready. You’re 29 years old, you just got four kids. You’ve got a part-time job.’
“I really had a reality check.”
Johnson said she learned about Habitat through her former pastor’s wife, Johnetta Brown, at Gethsemane Baptist Church. They went to an informational meeting.
“I remember going down in there and seeing all these other people there, and I was like, ‘Maybe this is going to be something for me,'” Johnson said.
The two youngest children were reluctant to move.
“It was where our friends were,” said Gabrielle Kendall, the youngest who is now 32.
But the others were ready.
“It was, ‘Peace out,'” Ashley Kendall said to laughter.
Johnson dropped out of Malone and went to work full time at Aultman, where she works as scheduler.
“Aultman has been good to me,” she said.
Johnson, an only child, said she had a network of family support.
“My aunt did our laundry two to three times a week so we wouldn’t have to go to the laundromat,” she said. “There was always somebody helping.”
Those helpers included from her parents. Johnson said her dad brought the groceries every week, though her mom did have some initial struggles.
“It took her a while,” she said. “She envisioned me getting married and having babies, so she had to mourn that that wouldn’t be my future.”
The worksite at Tina Johnson’s Habitat for Humanity home in Canton in 2003.
Even after she got the keys that October 2003, Johnson said, she didn’t stop praying.
“I was like, ‘(God) don’t let me lose his house. Let me keep this roof over our head. Don’t allow any harm or danger to come to it,'” she said.
Her first purchase for the home was new beds and new mattresses for the children.
Today, the siblings, who are very close, are successful adults. Ashley, the eldest at 38, works in medical coding. Chad, 36, is a Kent State University graduate and music teacher at Hoban High School in Akron; Erica, 35, works for a tax company; and Gabrielle works with people who are developmentally disabled.
Johnson, who sprinkles her speech with “my kids,” said she made mistakes along the way like all parents.
Spaghetti, pizza bread and sloppy joes
“I can look back now and see I was so focused on not trying to replace their mother, while ensuring them they would stay together,” she said.
“I’d have family meetings but I should have been doing more checks on how they were feeling, but I didn’t know. Some of the things I wanted for them, like creating family traditions like I had, were overwhelming for them.”
Recently, when three of the four siblings got together, there was a lot of laughter about constantly needing new sneakers, especially Gabrielle, who was an avid basketball player.
“I made many trips to Payless,” Johnson said. “Gabby would wear holes in her shoes in one month.”
They reminisced about the first payday of the month when Johnson would drive them to Cleveland Avenue NW, where each child could pick dinner from a fast-food restaurant of their choosing, followed by a selection of two movies from Blockbuster.
Johnson did it as a treat because the family budget limited activities.
“We ate a lot of spaghetti, pizza bread and sloppy joes,” she said.
Gabrielle Kendall interjected, “We definitely didn’t feel broke.”
Johnson said she also worked hard to make sure they had good Christmases and memorable birthdays.
Erica Kendall is grateful for Johnson’s involvement. Her children, Imani Kendall, 16, Marcy Kendall, 12, and Brandel Dave Jr., 8, affectionately call Johnson “Maw Maw.”
“She made it fun,” she said. “She made sure we stayed together.”
What is Habitat Homeowners Network?
Because of her experience, Brown said, Johnson is assisting Habitat with a new initiative.
“We’re starting a team called the Habitat Homeowners Network,” she said.
“In the past two years, we started realizing our best asset is really in the people who live in a Habitat house; that the best of this ministry are the homeowners who make this ministry so full. And of course, the volunteers and donors and everybody who comes. But it’s really the folks who raised their kids and lived in these houses and paid them off or are currently in a mortgage.”
Brown said Johnson has spoken at graduations for current partner families.
“She’s been out to do devotions on work sites with me,” she said. “That has been a blessing to us because I am convinced Habitat homeowners are some of the best people I know. They’re community-minded, hard-working. They care about their families and are willing to do the necessary work to get to where they’re going.”
Habitat for Humanity homeowner Tina Johnson assists the ministry by volunteering as a speaker with the newly formed Habitat Homeowners Network. In March, Johnson paid off the home she purchased in 2003 through Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio.
Johnson initially struggled with being an empty-nester, but the house isn’t empty. Gabrielle Kendall moved back temporarily after her apartment building in Plain Township caught fire.
Johnson’s plans include some home remodeling in the future, adding that she’s still happy whenever she sees a new Habitat home in progress because she knows firsthand how it can change a family’s life.
“I’m always happy for someone else’s joy,” she said.
To learn more visit https://www.habitateco.org.
Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.
On Twitter: @cgoshayREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton woman who raised 4 cousins credits Habitat for Humanity home
