![\"taps_JoyanneJewettJohnson\"](\"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/taps_JoyanneJewettJohnson.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTAPS<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note: The Navy family is smaller this month. Joy Johnson left us unexpectedly. Spouse of ADM Gregory G. Johnson, she was a presence in the life of dozens of air intelligence officers and members of senior staffs. She made the world better for living in it. \u201cGrog\u201d Johnson penned this loving obituary of a remarkable woman.
\n – Ed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
06 August 2016. Joyanne Jewett Johnson of Harpswell passed away on at Mid Coast
\nHospital\u2019s Bodwell Hospice Facility in Brunswick. She was in the presence of her loving family.<\/p>\n
She was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in late March. Facing her foe with grace,
\ncourage, and dignity, she spent the last four and half months battling this implacable disease.
\nShe forsook the traditional chemo therapy protocol and sought treatment in Japan where
\nshe spent a month undergoing regimen of immune and gene therapies at the Saisei Mirai
\nClinic in Kyoto. She achieved temporary relief, but the complications of the disease soon
\ncontinued their inexorable march.<\/p>\n
The family wishes to thank the entire team at Mid Coast \u2013 Parkview Health, especially at the
\nBodwell Center and Hospice Care Facility, for their caring professionalism and
\ncomforting compassion as well as the team at New England Cancer Specialists. We
\nalso want to thank Dr. Toshio Inui and his team at the Saisei Mirai Clinic along with her
\nND, Dr. Frederic Shotz, who provided immeasurable support and helped her find Dr.
\nInui.<\/p>\n
Joy was born in Castine, Maine June 17, 1946, and grew up in Bucksport. She was the
\ndaughter of George Hebert Jewett and Ellen Louise Randall Jewett who both predeceased
\nher. She attended local schools in Bucksport. In 1968 she graduated from the
\nUniversity of Maine With Distinction earning a B.A. degree in Sociology. She was a
\nmember of Phi Mu Sorority, Secretary of the Student Senate, a Varsity Cheerleader,
\nand an All Maine Woman. After graduation, she remained active with the Class of \u201868.
\nSince returning to Maine in 2004, she has been very active in Class and Alumni
\nactivities coordinating and hosting numerous alumni events, including many in the barn
\non Snow Ridge Farm which was the salt water farm where she lived with her husband,
\nanimals, and gardens. It was here that her two daughters and all her grandchildren
\nspent each summer with her.<\/p>\n
She became an avid fly-fisher and spent a good deal of time on most of Maine\u2019s best
\ncold water fishing venues with her husband, family, and friends. There were both canoe
\nand drift boat trips on the West Branch, drift boat trips on the East Outlet, annual family
\nvisits to Grand Lake Stream and the St. Croix River, and trips to the Kennebago,
\nMagalloway, and Rapid Rivers<\/p>\n
At the beginning of her sophomore year, she met her future husband, Gregory G.
\nJohnson of Westmanland, Maine. Following a three-year courtship, they were married
\non July 6, 1968. She commenced a short-lived employment working for the State of
\nMaine Department of Health and Human Services as a Social Worker while her
\nhusband entered Aviation Officer Candidate School and was commissioned in
\nFebruary, 1969.<\/p>\n
She then began a 36 year run of the nomadic life associated with being part of a military
\nfamily. During the first 25 years her husband was deployed over 2\/3 of the time which
\nmeant during that period she was more often than not a \u201csingle parent.\u201d She was a
\nloved and caring mother to her two daughters, Sydney Randall Johnson Mroweic and
\nAshley Em Johnson Techet.<\/p>\n
From 1978 to 1990, the family was fortunate to reside in Jacksonville, FL in the same
\nhouse, on the same street, belonging to the same church, enjoying the continuity of the
\nsame friends, classmates, and neighborhood. For a significant majority of those 12 years
\nshe was a \u201csingle parent\u201d and she worked hard to make life exciting and interesting
\nfor her daughters. She had the capacity to turn activities into great adventures. There
\nwere numerous trips to Cumberland Island, tubing on the Ichetucknee, visits to the
\nOkefenokee Wilderness, class trips to Washington, D.C., and summers with her daughters
\nat Skyland Camp in Clyde, NC.<\/p>\n
It was also during this period that she began to perfect the tradition of turning every birthday
\nparty, social event, and milestone occasion into something special. She was the master of
\nmemorable parties which continued to her last days when she organized with her daughters\u2019
\nhelp a memorable co- 70th Birthday Party for herself and husband which she shared with
\ntheir family and friends.<\/p>\n
In addition to being a loving and supportive mother and spouse, she always found ways
\nto establish her own identity. She found interesting employment wherever we lived; founded
\na business, Canvas Cutters, which she could take with her whenever she
\nmoved; served for several years as Director of Arts and Crafts at a girl\u2019s summer camp
\nnear Clyde, NC; and always found ways and time to help those whose lives were more
\ncluttered and complicated than the life she enjoyed.<\/p>\n
During the last 1\/3 of those 36 years as a Navy Spouse, the assignments included time
\non large senior staffs or command of large U.S. and NATO staffs with demanding
\nsocial, entertainment, and cultural responsibilities. Her creative talents came to the fore.
\nShe was an elegant and gracious hostess. A Joy hosted event was always one where
\nthe guests enjoyed themselves, had fun, and went home with fond memories.<\/p>\n
In addition to her family, her abiding legacy will be the work she did throughout her life
\nhelping those facing difficulties. She possessed a unique trait that many aspire to but
\nfew genuinely achieve \u2013 the ability to be truly non-judgmental and totally unconditional
\nin providing care and support. That is what made her so effective working with those in
\nneed. Her genuinely caring demeanor resulted in an immediate and deep trust.
\nTo begin, throughout the 36 year Navy odyssey, she was supportive of and often an
\nactive volunteer with the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society wherever the family was
\nassigned.<\/p>\n
During the family\u2019s last assignment in Jacksonville in the late 1980s, she began working
\nfor Downtown Ecumenical Services Council (DESC) providing emergency food,
\nclothing, and financial assistance to people in need. She was fearless in getting out and
\nabout to provide those services to the needy populations in and amongst the most
\ndifficult neighborhoods in downtown Jacksonville and greater Duval County. While
\nworking for DESC, she also participated in the Fall 1989 March for the Homeless in
\nWashington D.C.<\/p>\n
In the 1990s during her husband\u2019s last two assignments in the Pentagon (1990 \u2013 1994
\nand 1997 \u2013 2000), she did two stints with the Fairfax County Department of Health and
\nHuman Services. The initial period was during the height of the HIV-AIDS epidemic.
\nShe worked closely with this population which was often abandoned by families and
\nsuffered lonely, agonizing illnesses and ultimately death in public facilities. On her own
\ntime she would spend countless hours attempting to reunite the remains of deceased
\nAIDS\/HIV clients with their estranged families. She also worked diligently with the shut-in
\nand alone elderly to make sure they had adequate services and support.<\/p>\n
The last four years of the Navy journey was spent in Italy. There she became involved
\nwith several charities supporting orphans and those suffering from drug addiction. One
\nof the first was \u201cEXODUS\u201d which was a live-in drug rehabilitation center near Monte
\nCassino north of Naples. During those four years she worked continuously to support
\nEXODUS as an institution as well as the individual patients. She invited them to her
\nresidence, arranged visits on aircraft carriers during port visits in Naples, had the
\nEXODUS \u201cJimmy Buffet Band\u201d perform at official functions at her residence, and
\nannually treated them to a fully volunteer catered U.S. style Thanksgiving Day Meal.<\/p>\n
She left an abiding legacy at EXODUS.<\/p>\n
Another effort was focused on the \u201cCentro Laila\u201d Orphanage in Mondragone. Most of
\nthese children were the abandoned offspring of African refugees and immigrants who
\nworked as prostitutes. Their prospects of being adopted were very remote. She helped
\nraise funds, organized volunteer working parties, visited frequently, and made sure the
\norphans had a front row seat at the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the
\nNATO Headquarters Compound along with an individual gift for each child.<\/p>\n
After returning home to Maine in the Fall 2004, her selfless efforts to assist community
\norganizations and those in need found new and wonderful entities to support. For three
\nyears she coordinated amongst the various organizations and businesses that provided
\nthe evening meal at Tedford Shelter in Brunswick. That adds up to over 1000 dinners.
\nOf course, she was the provider of last resort should someone forget or otherwise miss
\na commitment. Her freezer was always stocked with extra pans of lasagna to rush over
\nto the Shelter at the last minute.<\/p>\n
She was a member of the Mid Coast Hospital Auxiliary and for three years chaired the
\nAnnual Yard Sale. This was a major undertaking. She loved the special group of folks
\nwith whom she worked. Under her leadership it truly became a labor of love and great
\nfun while each year raising very substantive funds to support Mid Coast Hospital and
\nthe residents it serves within its catchment area.<\/p>\n
Her final quest to help others began five years ago. She single \u2013 handedly conceived
\nthe vision for and founded Embrace A Vet (EAV), a 501\u00a93 dedicated to providing direct
\nand supportive services to Maine veterans and their families living with Post Traumatic
\nStress (PTS) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) . It has three lines of services \u2013 healing
\nand wellness retreats, Paws for Peace which provides service dogs, and caregiver
\nsupport programs. She served as its Executive Director the past five years until her
\ndeath. It was her fervent hope that the wonderful work of the EAV Team will continue
\nand be her enduring legacy.<\/p>\n
She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Admiral Gregory G. Johnson, USN-Ret.
\nand their two daughters, Sydney Randall Johnson Mrowiec and Ashley Em Johnson
\nTechet; her mother in law, Carolyn Warrena Peterson Johnson; two aunts, Flora
\nMorgan Randall Crosson and Nancy Jewett Lord; an uncle, Ralph Joseph Jewett; two
\nsons-in-law David Bradley Mroweic and Andrew Holden Techet; and five grandchildren,
\nWarren Bradley Mroweic, Gregory Holden Techet, Owen Andrew Techet, Soren William
\nTechet, and Emma Scout Techet.<\/p>\n
A Memorial Service and Celebration of Joy\u2019s Life is planned for 11:00AM, Friday,
\nAugust 26, at First Parish Church in Brunswick, Maine. A reception will follow in The
\nBarn at Snow Ridge Farm, 69 Shore Road, Harpswell, ME 04079.<\/p>\n
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Joy\u2019s memory to: 1.) Embrace A
\nVet,www.embraceavet.org or P.O. Box 516, Topsham, ME 04086; 2.) Joyanne Jewett
\nJohnson Scholarship Fund, payable to the University of Maine Foundation, Two Alumni
\nPlace, Orono, ME 04469 or http:\/\/umainefoundation.or g\/about-thefoundation\/memorial\/;
\nor 3.) Clergy Spiritual Enrichment Fund, First Parish Church, 9
\nCleaveland Street, Brunswick, ME 04011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TAPS Editor\u2019s Note: The Navy family is smaller this month. Joy Johnson left us unexpectedly. Spouse of ADM Gregory G. Johnson, she was a presence in the life of dozens of air intelligence officers and members of senior staffs. She made the world better for living in it. \u201cGrog\u201d Johnson penned this loving obituary of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-socotra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13879,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13877\/revisions\/13879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}