Bobbie Jean “BJ” Yarborough, 48, went to be with her beloved Jesus on Sunday, August 24, 2025, at her home in Sour Lake, Texas, after a long illness. BJ was born in Landstuhl, West Germany (before the fall of the Berlin Wall), on September 4, 1976. She was a self-described Army brat and lived with her parents in Kaiserslautern, Germany, during two different tours lasting 9 years. She was outgoing in every respect and a force to be reckoned with (today they might call it hyper, but back then we just called her deliciously “mischievous”).
BJ had the privilege of traveling Europe extensively as a child while her father was serving two tours in Germany, spending a birthday at the Leaning Tower of Pisa; devouring heaps of gelato in Vatican City, Rome; screaming and waving at Pope Paul on a Thursday balcony appearance; chasing pigeons in St Mark's Square, Venice; camping with fellow girl scouts at a castle in Scotland; walking the streets and shops of London and Paris; getting her first tan in Costa Brava, Spain.
BJ and her parents settled in Woodbridge, Va., after her father retired from the Army, where she later graduated from Woodbridge High School. After high school, she worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., as a Human Relations specialist. When her parents retired and left Woodbridge in 2007, she followed them to Sour Lake, Texas and moved in next door. She married in 2008, became a homemaker, loved small town life, and dove head first into her beloved arts and crafts. She was talented artistically (inherited from her dad) and much of her work graces her Mom and Dad’s home.
BJ is survived by her husband Bradley F. Yarborough of Sour Lake, TX; son, Matthew Leland Gibson II of Joint Base Andrews, MD; daughter, Bailey Jean Gibson, partner Travis Campbell, and grandson Kayson Campbell of Stafford, VA; and daughter, Lanis Taylor Yarborough of Sour Lake, TX. Also surviving are her parents, 1SG Cecil Robert “Bobby” Johnson, U.S. Army (Retired), and mother, Collie Jean (Cox) Johnson of Sour Lake, TX; sister, Marti Lyn Destree and Lewis of Pahrump, NV; brother, Ronnie Johnson and Jackie, of Alexandria, LA; sister, Yalonda Lucas and Mark of Deville, LA; sister, Bonnie Kloster of Alexandria, LA; beloved mother-in-law Jan Yarborough of Kentwood, LA; and many, many aunts, uncles, and cousins throughout Texas, Louisiana, and Virginia who she did not often see but loved and cared about all her life.
Of special mention are her beloved fur baby Sophie; mother-in-law, special friend, Kathy Walker of Luella, Texas; and special cousins, Karen and Jenna Carter of Covington, Virginia; Her cousin Jenna leaves us with the most accurate description of her cousin BJ:
“I looked up to and idolized her in ways she may never have even realized. I’m so grateful that you two brought her into this world, decided to settle in Virginia for a while, and made it possible for me to bask in all of her fun, hilarious, fiercely loving, and chaotically gorgeous energy.”
--Jenna Carter, 24 Aug 25
Yes, our girl did it her way…
Family and friends visitation will be from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Thursday, August 28, 2025, at Claybar Kelley-Watkins Funeral Home in Beaumont, Texas. A graveside service will be held Friday, August 29, 2025, at Rosedale Cemetery in Sour Lake, Texas.
"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." John 11:25