Barbara Ann (Curtis) Johnson, age 92, passed away December 6, 2024, at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, MA after a long illness. Barbara was the beloved wife of the late Richard D. Johnson who passed away in 1977. Barbara was born seven weeks premature in Boston on August 30, 1932. She was the daughter of the late Edward J. Curtis and the late Ethel R. (Brooks) Goldston.
As a child she spent a great deal of time with her grandparents and had a deep affection for her Grandmother Brooks and Grandpa Brooks and Grandmother Curtis. After several years living around the City of Boston, Barbara settled in Wilmington, Mass. withher father and stepmother Violet. She often spent weekends visiting her mother in East Boston. She graduated from Wilmington High School in 1950. While in high school, she met her future husband Richard "Dick" Johnson of Woburn. Barbara and Dick loved going dancing and to the movies on the weekends. After graduating high school Dick joined the U. S. Marine Corps and while he was on leave, they married on April 12, 1951.
Barbara and Dick later settled in Woburn, MA where they raised their five children including two sets of fraternal twins. After her husband`s death at the age of forty-seven in 1977, she worked as a sales associate at Filene`s Department Store at the Burlington Mall until her retirement.
Barbara had many interests. Barbara was a lifelong reader and was often found "with her nose in a book," and she particularly enjoyed books about historical fiction. Barbara learned to knit as a young girl, was a member of the Knitting Club in high school and went on to knit many sweaters for herself and several family members. As a mom she took sewing lessons and made clothes for herself and her daughters. She was a great cook and baker. Over the years she collected numerous cookbooks! Barbara took great pride in her appearance. She kept up with the current hairstyles and enjoyed shopping for and wearing the latest fashions. She loved anything chocolate, black coffee and animals. She adopted several cats and had two German Shepherds, Gretchen and Max. After her son Robert researched the Brooks family genealogy, he was able to confirm that she was a Mayflower descendant and was an active member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendents. Barbara embraced aging and took pleasure in telling people her age.
She was predeceased by her half-brother Edward J. Curtis, Jr. of Bradenton, FL
She is survived by her five children: Robert C. Johnson and his wife Linda of Petersburg, MI, Richard D. Johnson, Jr. of Woburn, MA, Kevin M. Johnson of Tewksbury, MA, Karen A. DeBerio and her husband Michael of Woburn, MA and Christine J. Sawosik and her husband John of Westford, MA. In addition, her eight grandchildren, Michael R. DeBerio and his partner Sueli Cormo, Robert J. DeBerio and his wife Heather, Robert C. Johnson, Jr. and his wife Angela, Matthew E. Johnson, Scott M. Johnson and his wife Mary, Brian S. Johnson and his wife Rachel, Katie Sawosik and Emily Sawosik and her ten great grandchildren Ashley, Alyssa and Hailey DeBerio, Michael Paul DeBerio, Zachary Johnson, Maddox, Noah and Luke Johnson, Scott and Addison Johnson and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her half-brothers Robert E. Curtis and his wife Marianne of Wilmington, MA, Lawrence W. Curtis of San Diego, CA and her half-sister Deborah J. Curtis of Oceanside,
CA.
Funeral arrangements are private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Barbara`s name can be made to St. Jude Children`s Research Hospital.