Sonja E. Dejournett

Mere words are insufficient to capture the spunk and spirit of Sonja Edith DeJournett. She was born July 13, 1953 in Orlando, Florida to Lillie Bell (Edith) Hughes and Thomas J. Edith who both preceded her in death. With a loving mother and doting father the family grew to ultimately include Sonja and her four siblings, two of whom mourn her loss today Raymond Edith and Pamela (Eddie) Rogers and two having preceded her in death, Virginia Cox and Carrie Hydara.

She was Sonja, German pronunciation, not Sonya and she was quick to tell you so. She was fierce; fiercely loving, fiercely loyal, fiercely protective and if she thought you were asking for it a fierce adversary. She was a lifelong learner and encouraged others to pursue an education (formal or otherwise) like their very lives depended upon it, because they did. She worked for over 20 years as an IT professional for the Akron Public Library System. She could often be found with a book in hand or hunched over a computer as far back as the 1980's. This tells you how cutting edge and forward thinking she was. But by contrast, she was also a lover of history, which she put into practice as an expert genealogist long before the days of Ancestry.com. She loved wine colored Buick Regals, so much so that she replaced hers every few years. She never met a Western movie or TV show that she didn't like, maybe that's why she was such a Maverick herself. Her quick temper was matched by her even quicker wit. She loved music of all genres and was never afraid to bust a move. She was creative and could make something from nothing or change one thing into something entirely different, all in the blink of an eye.

In 1979 she met and fell in love with a soft-spoken, big-hearted man who loved and accepted her and her only child (Arris N. King). She went on to become Mrs. Walter L. DeJournett and over the next forty plus years Sonja and Walter ate salmon patties, fished, hit the dog tracks, went on road trip adventures, welcomed a grandchild (Taylor A. King), and shared their lives until Sonja departed this world on April 21, 2022. Walter's uncompromising devotion to Sonja is an example for us all of what love in action looks like.

Sorrow is a poor description for those enduring this loss today, including her extended family, friends, colleagues and her beloved nieces and nephews, Randall Edith, Stacy Edith, LaVelle Hardin, Chaun Siner, Roderick Siner, Nathaniel R. Jones, Kellie M. Edith, LeRoy T. Stewart, Demetrius Dixon, DeShawn Dixon, Stewart Yarbrough, Joe Yarbrough and Teonna Wilder (Teonna having preceded her in death). At Sonja's request the family will gather for a private wake, funeral service and repast. Minister Charles Parmer will officiate and interment will take place at Greenlawn Memorial Park.

To leave a special message for the family, visit www.NewcomerAkron.com or condolences may be sent to Arris King at P.O. Box 5105 Mooresville, NC 28117.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Newcomer Funeral Home in Akron, Ohio.