Obituary of Herbert M. Johnson

Herbert M. Johnson Surrounded by his family, Herbert Melvin Johnson, 80, of Roosevelt, NJ, passed away Saturday, January 26 at St. Francis Hospital, Trenton. Herb was loved and admired by many. Herb was born January 1, 1928 to Earl & Anna Johnson in Tarrytown, NY, and graduated from City College of New York in 1950. He married Florence McCarty in 1951 and began to raise a family. Herb's greatest joys were the births and relationships with his children, Lezlie, Evelyn, Virginia, Steven, Jennifer, Daniel and William. He encouraged and guided them everyday in words and actions. Herb devoted his life towards leaving the world a better place, being active in peace, disarmament and civil rights causes all his life. He marched on Washington and came home inspired by Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and never stopped working towards this dream. For more than 20 years, he was an active member of the Coalition for Peace Action, in Princeton, NJ, where he was honored with an award in March 2001. Additional recent activities included singing with the Solidarity Singers, and working with prisoners in the Alternatives to Violence Project. Herb lived in Roosevelt for the past 24 years and was actively involved in his community; serving on the Roosevelt First Aid; contributing to the Roosevelt Borough Bulletin, reporting on Council meetings for many years; contributing his artistic talent to the new mural on Roosevelt’s Borough Hall; participating in the Roosevelt Nuclear Disarmament Group, the Roosevelt Seniors Group, and many other school and community functions. Herb was a good neighbor in every sense of the word and will be sorely missed by many. Herb was a YMCA Director, Union Carpenter, and then a Teacher at East Brunswick Vocational School for the last 18 years of his career. Always a learner, he taught himself to play the guitar so he could sing to his kids, was an amateur astronomer, bird watcher, naturalist, singer/songwriter, Senior Triathelete competitor, and all-around handyman. In his retirement he became an Abraham Lincoln presenter, traveling to Lincoln conferences and speaking at many functions. Herb and Florie loved to travel together, traversing the country several times on road trips, reading to each other to pass the miles. Herb will be remembered and forever cherished by his precious and beloved wife of 56 years, Florence McCarty Johnson; his children and their spouses and partners, Lezlie Johnson, Evelyn Johnson and Jerry Pitman, Virginia and Bob Bochar, Steven and Joanne Johnson, Jennifer and Jim Cicalese, and Daniel Johnson; his grandchildren, James and William Edelstein, Trevor and Irina Bochar, and Kathryn Cicalese; his granddaughter-in-law Selena Reynolds Edelstein; his great-grandchildren, Morgana, Isabela, and Dylan Edelstein; his brothers Jack and Martin, his sisters-in-law Virginia, Helen and Catherine; brother-in-law Anthony; nieces, nephews, cousins, and many special friends, especially Jennifer Juckes Vetrovs, Gary Edelstein, and Mark Mironov. His infant son, William, preceded him in death. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, February 2, 1 PM at the Roosevelt Public School, 2A School Lane/Rochdale Ave, Roosevelt, NJ. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Womanspace, Inc., 1212 Stuyvesant Avenue, Trenton, New Jersey 08618 (serving the needs of women in crisis), or to the Roosevelt First Aid, P.O. Box 274, Roosevelt, NJ 08555.