Written by Tanya Terry
Flint Natives Delores Johnson and Delores Thompson attended school together at what was called Emerson Intermediate middle school.
According to Johnson, she was quieter in the 8th grade, while Thompson was outgoing.
Thompson later attended Northern High School, and Johnson attended Northwestern.
The two women’s paths crossed again on July 7, 1977 at Hurley hospital while each was having children. They shared stories, laughed and hugged. Then, they lost contact with each other again.
Thompson raised her child born on July 7, 1977. Her name is Kimberland Anderson.
Thompson said of her daughter: “She always loved to read…She’s very outgoing…She loves church, and she really takes into consideration how she treats people and helps them with their health….”
When Anderson was about 13, her grandmother needed a knee replacement. According to Thompson, Kimberland Anderson was very helpful at that time.
“She would tell us all the time: ‘When I grow up, I’m going to be a doctor so I can help people.’”
She did become a doctor of family medicine and has been a doctor since 2006. She currently works at Franciscan Health.
Johnson’s son born on the same date as Thompson’s was named Richard Antwain Johnson, and he was called “Rickey.”
Johnson said: “He always had a big smile, was full of laughter and loved to make people laugh. I kept him involved in a lot of community activities at an early age.”
At age 5, Richard Antwain Johnson was part of the McCree Theatre repertoire. He opened the production of “A Dream Deferred” by quoting the poem “I Too” by Langston Hughes.
A friend from middle school reached out to Delores Thompson, asking her if she knew Delores Johnson’s son died. He was age 43 at that time in 2020.
Thompson then saw Johnson on Facebook, sent her a friend request, which Johnson accepted, and the two long-time associates were back in contact with each other.
“I said you’ll never know why he left as early as he did; maybe God wanted his angel home,” said Thompson, remembering her conversations with Johnson.
Johnson is the publisher of U.S. Military Hidden Figures Magazine and a community engager. She started a Veterans Motorcade in Flint, which she turned over to the VON (Veterans of Now) organization.
Thompson cared for a man who was paralyzed from the waist down for two years until he died as a home care supervisor and served in many other notable roles in her community.
Through phone conversations, the moms discovered that they themselves were born seven months apart in 1960 in the same hospital their babies were born in. They discovered that the home addresses on their own birth certificates for both moms were right around the corner from each other. Both have the family nickname “Lois,” they both are sometimes referred to as “Dee” and their favorite color is red. They both have worked in General Motors and in clerical/secretarial positions, and they both had two children.
Thompson is currently living in Matteson, Illinois and is 63 years old. Johnson lives in Port Huron, an hour away from Flint, and is 64.
The two women named Delores have been close friends for years now, but only through talking on the phone. They are looking forward to their next in-person reunion.
A community closet inside North County Community Development Corporation’s community center is named in honor of Richard Antwain Johnson in Jennings, Missouri. It’s called Rickey’s Closet.
