Alan Daniel Johnson, of Fillmore, CA, died peacefully on December 13th, 2021. He was 94 years of age. Al spent much of his childhood in Scotia, New York and enlisted in the Navy during WW2. He graduated from Syracuse University with a BA in English, Journalism.
Al’s professional life in journalism began as a reporter for the Capitol District Gazette in Schenectady, New York. It was during this time he met and married Dorothy Defazio Johnson, his wife of 53 years.
The bulk of his professional life was with the General Electric Company in Schenectady and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Senior Publicist for the Missile and Space Program. The family relocated to the suburbs of Philadelphia in 1958, where Al and Dot raised five children. The family spent every weekend skiing in the Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania, where Al volunteered on the ski patrol and life-long friends were made. The wider influence resulted with several of his children and grandchildren achieving highly competitive and professional success within the ski industry.
In 1972 the family moved to Manchester Vermont, purchasing a sporting goods store and Bed & Breakfast. The move to ski country was Al’s dream where he joined the ski patrol at Bromley Mountain. In retirement, they moved to Venice, Florida and enjoyed many years in a warmer climate. Al returned to Maine for some years where he participated in Maine Handicap Skiing at Sunday River, well into his 80’s and eventually, to California where he reunited with the youngest family members.
The three passions that defined Al were his love of reading/writing, skiing and a good adventure! Al remained active in retirement reporting for local newspapers and volunteering for Literacy programs. The YMCA in Venice, Florida acknowledged his reporting of their program to help promote literacy in parents of young children.
Al was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy Defazio Johnson; his parents, Ernest Elden Johnson and Esther (nee Thunborg) Johnson. He is survived by his children, Alan Daniel Johnson and his partner, Susan Shay, Kristin Esther Johnson and her husband David Beam, Nissa Johnson Avery and her husband Mark, Karin Johnson Hardy and her partner Don Campbell, Erik Charles Johnson and his wife Mary; as well as his grandchildren, Anders Johnson, Alyssa Jonson, Gabriel Johnson, Aaron Landry, Mathew Beam, Ryan Beam, Lars Remsen, Christopher Remsen, Greg Hardy, Colton Hardy, Jessie Hardy, Nicholas Johnson, Katherine Johnson; as well as his great grandchildren, Theodore Johnson, Jackson Landry, Cohen Landry, Charlotte Beam, and Finn Remsen.
The family would like to thank the staff at the Fillmore Country Club, a senior community, for the kindness and care they provided Al in his final days.
A family service will be held this summer in Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, Maine.