Earvin Johnson Sr., father of NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, passed away on Wednesday. Earvin, Sr. died at McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital in Lansing, Michigan. He was 88 years old. Magic shared the news on social media in a special tribute post to his father.
He captioned it, “Thank you, Dad. I love you forever! ❤️🕊️”
Earvin, Sr. was a Mississippi sharecropper who came to Lansing to find work at Oldsmobile and stayed to raise a family.
“I wanted to be just like my dad,” the Michigan State University and NBA legend said. “My father was the hardest working man I’ve ever known. He worked two to three jobs at any given time to provide for his family and never made excuses.”
Magic’s siblings echoed what he said when they spoke with Lansing State Journal.
Larry and Lillie Johnson, two of the couple’s seven children together, remembered their dad for his work ethic as he taught them to always be proud of making an honest living.
“He just made sure that our dreams were his dreams and he gave us all we wanted and all we needed plus some,” Lillie, 64, said.
Larry, 66, said he and his older brother would hide while riding in the truck on routes to pick up garbage.
“He used to always tell us to sit up,” Larry recalled. “‘You ain’t doing nothing wrong it’s an honest job.'”
Magic, 63, continued to share tributes on social media.
He then sent a special thanks to his fans.
Sending condolences to the Johnson family.
