Eleanor E. Johnson Obituary
Eleanor E. (Light) Johnson, 98, of Rockport, wife of the late George W. Johnson Jr., passed away peacefully on October 27.
She was born in Marlborough, MA on May 27, 1925, the daughter of the late Wesley and Edith (Bellamy) Light. She grew up in Hudson, MA, and later moved to Medford, MA.
Eleanor was a graduate of Medford High School, Class of 1943. During her senior year, she obtained a part time nursing job at Mass General Hospital and gained experience very quickly. As fate would have it, she was called into work early in the morning of November 29, 1942, to assist in aiding the many burn victims injured in the famed Coconut Grove Nightclub fire which occurred in Boston the night before.
She received her Business/Secretarial Associates degree from Fisher Jr. College.
She worked various jobs in her younger years and was the first secretary for the president of Jergunson Gauge and Valve Company in Somerville, MA.
She met her husband, George Johnson, on Long Beach in Rockport during the summer of 1953. They married the next year, raised their two boys in Ashland, MA, and spent many happy summers on Long Beach.
Eleanor and George moved to Rockport to live year-round in 1975. Eleanor became an active member of the Pigeon Cove Circle and the Rockport Methodist Church. She enjoyed working in her flower garden and especially loved daylilies. A terrific baker, Eleanor enjoyed baking chocolate chip cookies, whoopie pies, and buttercrunch candy for her family and neighbors. She made great friends at the YMCA water aerobics class, lovingly named the "Wet Hens.". She will be remembered for her welcoming smile, beautiful disposition, and gracious spirit.
Eleanor is survived by her son, Douglas Johnson and his wife Charlene of Arvada, CO, and her daughter-in-law, Louisa Casadei-Johnson, wife of her late son, Eric D. Johnson, of Rockport, MA; her five grandchildren, Lindsay Schartz, her husband Matthew, and Eleanor's great-granddaughter Kinsley of Westminster, CO; Ashley Johnson of Colorado Springs, CO; Megan Johnson and her wife Crystal of Arvada, CO; Eric C. Johnson and his fiancée Amanda Lovell of Charlestown, MA; and Anna Johnson of San Diego, CA; her sister, Betty Holton of Jacobus, PA; her brother, Donald Light and his wife Kathleen of Litchfield, CT; and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, George, and son, Eric.
A visitation will be held at the Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington Street, Gloucester on Monday, November 6, 2023 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. with a memorial service to follow.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her name to Gloucester's Open Door Food Pantry, 28 Emerson Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930, where Eleanor regularly made donations.
Arrangements by Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington Street, Gloucester, MA 01930.
