Valerie Deann Herren Johnson

   Valerie DeAnn Herren Johnson passed away quietly at home early Sunday morning October 15, 2023. Valerie was the oldest child of Dock and Laurawilla Herren of Loyall, Ky. She was the oldest of four siblings.

  As a young adult, Valerie was one of the first people to undergo open heart surgery at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington, Ky, and was determined to make her mark after given that chance for an extended life. She married her high school sweetheart, Michael Johnson in 1971. Valerie was raised in the Baptist faith, and was determined to become a minister. She graduated from Lexington Theological Seminary and was ordained as a minister in the Methodist church. She was pastor/assistant pastor at many churches, including Trinity Hill United Methodist, St. Luke United Methodist, Midway United Methodist and Berea United Methodist. Valerie was a soft-spoken trailblazer. She did not accept that there was anything she couldn’t do, and ministered to many. She retired to Richmond, Ky and spent the rest of her days with her husband, daughter and her family.

   She lost her husband, Michael, in 2021, but is survived by many family members and friends, including her daughter Ashlee Davis (Mike), granddaughter Piper Davis, grandson Grayson Davis, siblings Doug Herren (Debbie), sister Candi Herren, brother Chris Herren (Becky), life-long special friends Bert and Cecilia Wang, five nieces and a soon-to-be-born great grandchild, Addisyn Elaine.

   Funeral services will begin at 12pm, Friday, October 20, 2023, at Berea United Methodist Church in Berea, Kentucky. The family will begin accepting friends at 11 am and following the funeral services there will be a fellowship meal in the Parrish House. Condolences may be left for the family at www.lakesfuneralhome.com 

   This obituary is a courtesy to the family by the Anderson-Laws & Jones Funeral Home of Harlan.