Folsom Funeral Service

Priscilla James Johnson, known to her friends as “Pat”, passed away on August 31, 2017, at the age of 94, in her apartment at Fox Hill Village in Westwood, Mass.  Pat was born in Somerville, Mass., on September 28, 1922, to Ada Taylor James and Walter Clark James.  Her beloved younger brother, Phil James, predeceased her.  She was an active member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority at Boston University, and maintained close friendships with those sisters all her life.  She worked for the government during World War II and married Gilbert Johnson (now deceased) in 1944.  Together they had four children: Barbara Ellen Johnson, professor at Harvard University (now deceased); Peter David Johnson, demographer in the International Programs of the US Census Bureau, married to Connie Axinn Johnson, with children Sarah Bird (married to Randy Bird) and Aaron Johnson (married to Jennie Johnson, and father of Pat’s only great-grandchild, June Johnson); Bruce Warren Pollack-Johnson, professor at Villanova University, married to Linda Pollack-Johnson, with children Ben and Jamie Polson; and Christopher Clark Johnson, married to Alisa Landry Johnson, with son Alex Johnson.  At First Parish Church in Westwood, Pat was a member of the choir and helped form a Prayer Group that resulted in many more lifelong friendships.  She enjoyed a family road trip across the country in 1961 and trips abroad to France, Sweden, and the Holy Land, as well as summers at the rustic family cabin on a pond in New Hampshire.  Pat was the beloved Branch Librarian at the Islington Branch of the Westwood Public Library from 1970 to 1997, where she gave Book Talks and helped organize book discussion groups.  When she moved to Fox Hill Village in 2001, Pat continued to help organize book discussion groups and helped out at the library as a volunteer.  She was known for her positive attitude to life, and for her special friendship with Dr. Hugh Chaplin when they were both in their 90s.  Donations in her memory can be made to First Parish of Westwood, 252 Nahatan St., Westwood, MA 02090 or to the Star Island Annual Fund, Morton-Benedict House, 30 Middle St., Portsmouth, NH 03801 (or www.starisland.org ).  A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 21, at 4:00 pm, at First Parish of Westwood Church, 252 Nahatan Street,  (corner of Nahatan and Clapboartree Streets)Westwood.

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