When Roy Franklin Johnson was born on 2 July 1919, in Richland, Illinois, United States, his father, Edgar Johnson, was 25 and his mother, Effie L Marshall, was 26. He married Lula Ellenor Henton on 15 June 1949, in Olney, Richland, Illinois, United States. He lived in Shelby Precinct, Edwards, Illinois, United States in 1930 and Shelby Election Precinct, Edwards, Illinois, United States in 1940. He died on 7 April 1994, in Olney, Richland, Illinois, United States, at the age of 74, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Madison Township, Richland, Illinois, United States.