Judith M. Johnson

Judy, as she was known, was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia, attending Huntington High and graduating in 1959. She then went on to get her Bachelor’s and teaching degree from Marshall University. Mom lived and taught in many places, then settled in Newington, Connecticut to raise her family. While living in Connecticut, Mom received her Master’s in Education at Central Connecticut State University. She finally came to Florida and called Pasadena Cove in South Pasadena her home.

Family and friends were the most important thing to her, and she put everyone before herself. She learned so much of that from her own mom and dad.

She was the oldest daughter of Dan and Mary Johnson. Mom always bragged about her dad being the amazing civil engineer that helped build numerous locks and dams and gave to her the true love of West Virginia and its landscape. Her mom, Mary, was the hostess- with-the-mostess and mom always lived up to that legacy. She is survived by her sister Patricia Macel who always brought the energy to our family parties and her brother Robert (Bobby) who was always giving her the rational guidance she needed in life.

Allyson Williams, the oldest daughter, followed in her “BIG” footsteps as a teacher and strives every day to bring the passion and love for education Mom had her whole career. Her daughter, Adrienne Bergeron is a nurse following the same compassionate path through life taking care of others as mom always did herself.

However, mom cannot be defined any greater than being, NANA.

She was the best grandmother any young lady could have. Her granddaughter, Emily was her “sunshine”. The two of them were inseparable. From the time Emily was little and the two of them would set off on Gulf Boulevard Trolly ride adventures, to their Tuesday dinners at Chick-fil-a in the last weeks of her life, Emily was blessed to have her in her life. She was more than just a grandmother to Emily. She was Emily’s biggest cheerleader, confidant, mentor, and supporter. Emily enjoyed their time together memorizing the state capitals, learning how to always write a “thank you note”, and forever fixing Nana’s TV remote.

But Judy could be defined by more than just her family. She was a career educator, teaching everything from 1st grade to middle school social studies. Those that taught with her were never bored as she always wanted to try the craziest and most creative things to inspire her students. Even in retirement she could never stop sharing her knowledge and expertise. She worked in Florida as an English-as-a-Second-Language teacher to adults at a local high school. She loved every experience she had in teaching and always gave so much to her community.

Mom was the keeper of the family stories and legacy. She was so proud of the family’s history and kept amazing records of what her family did and where they came from. She loved to share the Parker history as the masons that helped build Kenyon College and the small village of Gambier, Ohio.

Mom was an avid reader and belonged to many book clubs over the years. Mom was a good card player and learned most of her skills from her own mother. Cards in our family is serious.

Mom was always helping and reaching out to her neighbors. She could never turn anyone down that might be in trouble and was always there to lend a hand or give support.

Mom loved her church and worked at St Anne of Grace for years. While there she made many friends and loved being able to help that community as well.

Mom loved to collect shells, go to Hobby Lobby, take day trips to see small towns in Florida, and check out the latest restaurants.

There are so many great memories from our past with Mom but some of the memories that really stick out:

*getting lost for the sake of creating an adventure

*taking the ferry to Block Island with suitcases because that meant you were staying for a long weekend.

*going to historical places and using the audio guide headphones.

*going camping at Rocky Neck

*going to West Virginia for the summer and taking winding back roads till we all got sick

*singing with the 8-track all the way to West Virginia. Some of our favorites were Grease, Sound of Music, and John Denver.

*walking her dog Lucy around the Condo to visit with all her neighbors

*strolling through Scott’s (her son-in-law) backyard and talking trees and plants

We would love for you to share some of your memories of Mom, Judy, as well.

Mom was an amazing person to so many people and was loved by all. At this time there will be no services as that was her wish. We will be bringing Mom home to Gambier, Ohio in the summer where we will have a small celebration of life in her favorite place on Earth - the Quarry Chapel.