Lucy Mae, the middle child of 13 children, (11 girls and 2 boys) was born on a farm near St. Lawrence (Ky.) Church to David Damien and Catherine Morris Johnson on March 10, 1931. She was baptized in St. Lawrence Church on April 12, 1931, and was confirmed there, taking the name Hortense, on May 8, 1941. Lucy Mae grew up in a loving, prayerful family. It was said that every time the church door opened, the Johnson family came in. She received her elementary education a St. Lawrence School taught by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph.
She received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Rose Theresa. Sister Rose Theresa made temporary vows on August 14, 1950; final vows on August 15, 1953. This began her 31 years of teaching young children in Kentucky at Fancy Farm, Wax, Curdsville, Central City, Leitchfield, Mayfield, St Leonard in Louisville, Blessed Mother and Precious Blood in Owensboro, and Sorgho.
In 1989, Sister Rose Theresa left classroom teaching and went into parish ministry in the Marion-Eddyville parishes, where she was always part of the living Christmas tree and was in the movie “The Last Dance” which dealt with capital punishment. She planted and nurtured the seeds of faith and deep hope among the people especially with prisoners in the Eddyville penitentiary.
Later, she ministered at Caneyville, Ky. This ministry took her on frequent visits to the homebound; working in food pantries and clothes closets to help the poor; evangelizing and breaking down the prejudices among different faiths throughout the entire area of Grayson County. In 1999 she began ministering in St Joseph parish in Central City, Ky., along with her sister, Sister Rose Karen. They lived in the convent built for them at Greenville. Their ministry there inspired both Catholic and members of other faiths by mirroring the goodness of God, bringing healing and hope to those who suffered brokenness of any kind — poverty, sickness, loneliness, broken marriages, the non-churched, and all.
For the last few years of her life, Sister Rose Theresa battled poor health, often hospitalized or spending weeks at a time in Saint Joseph Villa. Following each period of recuperation, she continued to be present in Greenville and Central City until her weakened condition forced her to come to Saint Joseph Villa for professional nursing care in mid-summer of 2012. She died August 10, 2012, at Owensboro Medical Health System. Her funeral Mass was celebrated at Mount Saint Joseph August 13th by Rev. Ray Goetz. Her remains are buried in the convent cemetery.