A Life Along the Rails

David Maxwell Johnston, 73, of Germantown, Tennessee, passed away on June 25, 2026, at Methodist Hospital Germantown.

Born on October 29, 1952, in Jackson, Mississippi, to James and Ada Johnston, David spent his childhood in Memphis, Tennessee, where he graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1970. He went on to earn both bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Memphis and became a Certified Public Accountant.

But numbers and spreadsheets never completely captured David's heart.

His true passion began as a young boy when his father took him to the train yards in Jackson. There, standing beside the tracks, David fell in love with locomotives and railroads. It was a fascination that would remain with him throughout his life and become his greatest joy and legacy.

David married the love of his life, Vonnis Leanne Leach Johnston, on January 1, 1991. Together they shared a deep love of blues music and many happy years attending Memphis in May festivities. Through life's joys and challenges, they remained devoted companions until Vonnis's death in 2017.

In 1996, at the age of forty-three, David suffered a devastating stroke that ended his professional career and left him with significant disabilities. Yet the stroke never diminished his spirit. For the next thirty years, David faced his limitations with extraordinary courage and determination. He rarely complained and became, in every sense of the word, a survivor.

Even after his stroke, David continued to pursue the things he loved.

He became an accomplished railroad historian, photographer, researcher, and model railroader. He built layouts with friends, traveled to photograph trains throughout the country, and amassed thousands of photographs of locomotives and railroad equipment.

His greatest passion was the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad. He devoted decades to researching its history and became one of its most respected historians. As the longtime Treasurer of the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Historical Society, David wrote countless articles, edited publications, created calendars, and generously shared hundreds of photographs and years of research with fellow rail enthusiasts.

One of the proudest accomplishments of his life came in 2019 with the publication of his book, Gulf, Mobile & Ohio: Illustrated Historical Reference, a comprehensive and beautifully illustrated history of the railroad he had loved since childhood. The book represented decades of research, scholarship, and devotion.

David is survived by his sister, Barbie Holcomb and her husband, Ben, of Pensacola, Florida; his stepdaughter, Kristen Harrington and her husband, Pete, of Jackson, Maine; his step-grandson, Will Harrington of Jackson, Maine; his niece, Sara Fox and her husband, Anthony, of Watertown, Massachusetts; and his nephew, Ben Holcomb of Denver, Colorado.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Vonnis Leanne Leach Johnston, and his parents, James and Ada Johnston.

Those who knew David will remember a quiet man of deep knowledge, remarkable perseverance, and unwavering passion. Though illness changed the course of his life, it never changed who he was. He continued to learn, research, write, and contribute, leaving an enduring legacy in the railroad community.

Perhaps the best way to picture David is beside the tracks, camera in hand, listening for the distant whistle of an approaching train and feeling the same sense of wonder he first experienced as a young boy.

The final station has been reached, but the journey David began so many years ago continues through the photographs he took, the history he preserved, the book he wrote, and the many lives he touched along the way.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Historical Society.

Arrangements are under the care of High Point Funeral Home, Memphis, Tennessee.