Shopping Mall Honors Fallen Black Friday Veteran
STOCKTON, CA – The Westgate Mall has honored Judy Johnson with a food court planter dedicated in her name after the noted Black Friday veteran was killed there last week.
Johnson, who perished in the Battle of Kohls, is believed to have died from friendly fire when her sister mistook her for another shopper during a brawl over a Lets Rock! Elmo and crushed her skull with a pipe wrench.
"Judy was fearless. She never backed down from a fight," recalled friend and fellow shopper Deloris Parker, "I remember back in1980 Gemco sold out of Betamaxes in less than a minute, but Judy wouldn't surrender. She had no quit in her. Didn't know the meaning of the word. Instead, she tracked down a lady in a checkout line with one of those machines and started beating the hell out of her until she let it go. Used that Betamax for almost a whole year before VHS came out."
Sadly, Johnson, who took part in 35 Black Friday campaigns, had said this year would be her last, citing her advancing age and arthritis.
"It's tough, but I think it's the way she would've wanted to go," Parker remarked.
Westgate Mall spokesman Larry Foster extolled Johnson's sacrifice during a brief commemoration ceremony this morning.
"Ms. Johnson is a true hero," Foster said, "Mindless consumerism and violence is what America is all about."
Johnson's planter, which features a plaque inscribed with her name, is located between Wetzel's Pretzels and Charlie's Grilled Subs.