Avis de décès de Barbara-A. Johnson - Nécrologie - MesAieux.com

JOHNSON Barbara A. Johnson, age 54, of Bloomington, Ind., died after a lengthy illness on Saturday, January 14, 2006 at Bloomington Hospital, Bloomington, Ind. She was born in Bridgeport on July 6, 1951, to Anita E. (Codeghini) Johnson and Carl V. Johnson. She is survived by two brothers, Richard C. Johnson of Waterbury and Mark V. Johnson of Stratford; a sister, Carol A. Johnson of Derby; a niece, Sara Johnson of Stratford; and 11 cousins. She will be fondly remembered and sorely missed by her many friends and former colleagues in Bloomington, as well as by her partner of 13 years, Betty Rose Nagle. A former university English professor, she earned a BA at the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. at Brown University and had taught at Franklin and Marshall, Ind., Ohio State, and East Tennessee State. She specialized in the English Renaissance and published a book Reading Piers Plowman and the Pilgrim's Progress: Reception and the Protestant Reader. She was a voracious reader of fiction and nonfiction. Among her favorite American authors were Walt Whitman and Flannery O'Connor. A woman of strong convictions and opinions, she kept herself well-informed about current events, but stopped watching TV news programs during the 2004 election campaign. A serious and knowledgeable sports fan, her strongest loyalty was to the New York Yankees. She had been an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church and was expert enough in church history and theology to have once served as a reader for General Ordination exams. She had been an AIDS "buddy" in a program sponsored by what was then called the Community Mental Health Center and participated in the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition. A self-described "child of the sixties" and "old lefty," she was a lifelong democrat and supporter of liberal causes. She was an outspoken advocate for gay rights in all areas of life, including the church. A source of great joy for Barbara were her numerous animal companions, including Sara, a red Chow Chow who shared her life for a dozen years and most recently Jack, a black cat who helped console her after Sara's death. Over the past decade, Barbara was plagued by a series of debilitating illnesses. A lover of good food and fine wine, she could no longer enjoy either. Although her body increasingly failed her, her mind and spirit were remarkably resilient. She kept thinking of writing projects which she ultimately did not have the strength to carry out, including a novel based on the life of the English mystic Julian of Norwich. She remained fully engaged with life until the end. A Memorial Service was held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington on Saturday, January 28. Memorial contributions may be made to AmFAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research), the Human Rights Campaign, Trinity Episcopal Church (Bloomington) or the Monroe County Animal Shelter. A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2006 at 11 a.m., in Our Lady of Peace Church, Stratford.