Ann Marie Johnson, 88, of Plymouth, passed away on Tuesday, June 11, at the Life Care Center in Plymouth. She was the devoted wife of 66 years to Roger C. Johnson; and loving mother of Michael Johnson and his wife Ellen of Manomet, Kevin Johnson and his wife Mary of Manomet, Paul Johnson and his wife Susan of Malden and Sharon Mello and her late husband, Paul, of Windham N.H. She was the grandmother of Kevin, Michael, Marc, David, Jenna, Riley, Allison, Andrew and Erin; mother in-law of the late Donna Johnson; and special great nana to Lucas. Ann is also survived by her cousins, Patricia Brinley and Grace Horgan, as well as her sister in-law, Beverly Roush.
Ann was born in in Malden on September 1, 1935, daughter of the late Charles and Catherine (Riley) McAuley. She grew up in Malden, summered on White Horse Beach. She was a graduate of Girls Catholic High School. After high school, she worked for the telephone company. In the early 1950s, her parents built a cottage in Chiltonville. It was to become her favorite place in the world.
She and Roger met one summer night at the Mill Hill Club in Hyannis. The battery in her dad’s car died with three of her friends in the car. Roger was on leave with three of his friends from the Navy. At the suggestion of one of Hyannis’s finest, Roger and his fellow sailors assisted the girls. The rest was fate. In the weeks to come, Roger and his friends were able to locate the girls in Plymouth, and this is where the couple’s love began. Two other love affairs started that night – Don and Dotty and Jim and Joyce also married.
This is not to forget the other girl in the car that night, Ellen Reggiani, (Dotty’s sister), who later married William Drew. The eight of them became lifelong friends, creating so many happy memories.
Ann and Roger were married in 1958. They had four children. Ann provided her children with love and was proud of each of them. As she raised the family, Ann worked at the Cheverus School in Malden and later in life at Eastern Packaging in Boston. She and Roger retired to their beloved summer home in Plymouth in 2016.
Ann loved playing bingo and cards, meeting friends – affectionately named the Gabba Girls – and traveling. She and Roger visited family and friends in numerous places, such as Hawaii, Las Vegas, New Mexico, the Grand Canyon, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ireland, and Florida (in winter). She loved and adored her time on the beach with family and friends, from spending many weekends out the Point, to spending time with her family and cousins, the Smiths, Horgans, and Allans on the patio at Pilgrim Sands, dinner at the Red Cottage and a cold beer with her pizza.
With all this, nothing came second to her children and grandchildren. She loved watching them play sports, dance at recitals, and perform in school plays. Ann (and Roger) especially loved taking each grandchild, when they were 10, to Washington, D.C., during April vacation
The family would like to extend deep appreciation to the staff of the Newfield House for the love, respect, and care they showed “Nana” (and Roger, too).
A visitation will be held at the Cartmell-Davis Funeral Home, 619 State Road, Plymouth, on Monday June 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. Family and friends are welcome to the funeral home the following day at 9:45 a.m. prior to the Mass as St Bonaventure Church in Plymouth at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ann’s memory may be made to the Newfield House Staff Appreciation Fund, Newfield House, 19 Newfield St., Plymouth, MA, 02360.