Obituary of Daniel George Johnson

Daniel George Johnson, Roosevelt, NJ: Home Depot Associate, artist, game inventor, light show performer and gardener extraordinaire, 54 years young Dan Johnson, formerly of Freehold and Avon-by-the-Sea, N.J., passed away on March 7th, 2015, at home, truly surrounded by loved ones, after a seven month struggle with ALS. Daniel was born January 26, 1961 in Metuchen, NJ to Florence Johnson (nee McCarty) and the late Herbert Johnson. Daniel graduated from Freehold Borough High School in 1979 where he played Varsity basketball, soccer, baseball and track. Daniel was well loved by all who knew him and brought his creativity to everything he did. He was a devoted son, who recently moved to Roosevelt to assist his aging mother. Prior to that, he spent many hours with his father, working on projects, engaging in lengthy discussions, and bicycling together. Dan will perhaps best be remembered in his role as “Uncle Danny”, which he took very seriously, to many children of both friends and relatives. He brought joy to every gathering - it wasn’t a party until Uncle Danny arrived! Recognizing the importance of family, Dan organized events to bring us together such as “The Christmas Tree Game” which he invented over 20 years ago and will continue to be a family tradition; massive Easter Egg hunts, in which each egg held a ticket for a gift from Dan’s treasure trove of gifts; and organizing “cousin camping trips”. Dan was a gracious host to many guests at his home in Avon-by-the-Sea, cooking many a delicious meal and teaching nieces or nephews how to body surf and play miniature golf. His mentoring children reached far beyond family members as he had earlier coached youth basketball. Dan spent his entire career working in the landscape and gardening field, working for over 23 years at the Home Depot. Most recently, Dan worked as a Garden Receiver at the Home Depot in Howell, NJ, where many of his coworkers are mourning his passing. Dan took great pride in his work, and great satisfaction in a hard day’s work. Dan was a master gardener in every sense of the word. He enjoyed working in his and others’ gardens and had earned the nickname of “midnight mulcher” by some. Dan took great joy in creating colorful, free form gardens which often included an element of surprise, and nurturing them to their fullest potential. He loved sharing his gardening knowledge with others and was excited to learn new ideas as well. The creativity Dan expressed in his garden, in more recent years evolved into his beautifully creative, “Doodle Art”. During his illness, Dan spent many hours creating Doodle Art pieces and writing in his journal. (Plans are being made to reproduce and sell some of Dan’s artwork to support ALS research). More of Dan’s creativity was evident in his light shows for friends and family. In his “spare” time, he invented all kinds of creative games with the hope of one day marketing them. Dan also enjoyed the outdoors and spent many wonderful days camping in the Alleghenies with family and friends. In a letter Dan wrote to his goddaughter at her birth, he told her “Learning is half the magic of life. The other half is love.” Dan went through life eager to learn new things with unmatched enthusiasm. The love he showed for the human race and Mother Earth will live on through all who knew and loved him. Dan will be sorely missed by his mom, Florie; his siblings Lezlie (Roosevelt, NJ), Evelyn (Jerry) (Hamilton Square, NJ), Virginia Bochar (Robert) (Odenton, MD), Steven (Joanne) (Alexandria, VA), and Jennifer Cicalese (D. James) (Medford, NJ); nieces and nephews James Edelstein (Selena) (Mount Tremper, NY), William Edelstein (Kara) (Tucson, AZ), Trevor (godson) and Irina Bochar, and Kathryn Cicalese; great nieces and nephews Morgana, Isabela and Dylan Edelstein; cousins Tony, Lynn, Kim, Garrett, Ian, Emily, and Olivia (goddaughter); as well as aunts, uncles, and extended family everywhere, especially dear friends, the Bolton family. Memorial services will be held April 18, 2 PM at Roosevelt Borough Hall, 33 North Rochdale Avenue, Roosevelt, NJ. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the 2015 Annual Campaign to provide scholarship money for children to attend YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc., 1303 Stokes Rd., Medford, NJ 08055, Attn: Ms. Darlene Blesi, in memory of Daniel Johnson.