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- The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, February 17, 2022
Linda Bassett Johnson
1934 - 2022
Linda Bassett Johnson, 87, died peacefully at home in Topsham, Maine, on February 12, 2022, after a short illness. With Linda's passing, the world has lost a passionate gardener & birdwatcher, a pioneer of recycling, and a champion of the beleaguered adverb. Woe was anyone who used "looks like" in place of "looks as if" within earshot. A tireless and effective volunteer and advocate for her causes, she was also a talented arranger of flowers, a tenacious puller of weeds, and a staunch foe of pollution, smoking, elbows on the table, junk food and cilantro. Nary a grandchild was ever properly dressed, nor more loved. She was a wonderful mother of three and wife of 65 years to Robert Johnson, whom she met while at college. Born in 1934 in Belmont, Massachusetts, to Charles and Elizabeth Bassett, Linda moved to Cleveland Heights, Ohio as a young girl. There, she and her two sisters, Helen and Elizabeth, attended the Laurel School. Upon graduation from Laurel, Linda spent a year in England with family friends who had sent their boys to live with the Bassetts in Ohio during World War II. Upon her return from England, Linda attended Vassar College, where she earned a degree as a child study major. She married Bob Johnson in Cleveland, Ohio in 1956. After graduating from Vassar, Linda taught first grade in various schools where Bob was serving in the Air Force or attending law school. After Bob's graduation from law school, he and Linda moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio, where Linda dedicated her considerable energy to environmental causes while expertly raising three children, Stuart, Scott and Elizabeth. Linda did not abide late sleepers and was, herself, frequently up and out of the house early, driving her kids to the Cleveland Skating Club for 6AM skating practice or venturing off in drizzly weather to inhospitable birdwatching locations. From the time she was a child, Linda spent her summers in Christmas Cove, Maine. When Bob retired, he and Linda built a house there and divided their time between Maine and Cleveland. Linda had good friends in both places who could always count on her as a lively conversationalist, helping hand, or tennis partner. Throughout her life, Linda had a boundless love of the natural world, passed down to her from her mother. Birding took Linda to every corner of the US and all over the world, from Maine to Hawaii and from Africa to the Amazon Jungle. She passed along her fascination with birds to all who were receptive. Perhaps her favorite birding locale was the Shaker Lakes Regional Nature Center, where she led bird and nature walks and served as president. Linda also loved gardening and was an active member of the Shaker Lakes Garden Club of Cleveland when she received the Garden Club of America's Medal of Merit award for her work preserving the Doan Brook Watershed. As a member of Cleveland's Ikebana International chapter, Linda became quite skilled in the art of Ikebana. Linda was first and foremost a loving wife, mother, sister and aunt. She was predeceased by her sister, Helen Gurland, late of Fort Salonga, New York and will be missed dearly by her husband, Bob, her sister Elizabeth Welles of Branford, Connecticut, her three children and their spouses, Stuart and Carol Johnson of Chester, Connecticut, Scott and Susan Johnson of Portland, Maine, and Chip and Elizabeth Brewer of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, along with seven grandchildren, Todd Johnson, Eric Johnson, Claire Johnson, Meg Brewer, Tim Brewer, Brad Johnson and Chris Johnson, along with generations of nieces and nephews. They will remember some of Linda's happiest moments presiding over boisterous family dinners at the head of the long, ikebana-adorned table at her home overlooking the Damariscotta River. No service is currently planned. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be sent to the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, in memory of Linda Johnson, 2600 S. Park Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44120 or online at shakerlakes.org/tribute-gifts/.
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Bassett Family Association Database
1934 - 2022 (88 years)