Vincent De Paul Parish with Military honors and burial at the Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, 111 Glenallen Street, Winchendon, MA. Per Roger’s wishes a celebration of life will be held at St. a niece Heidi Girouard and nephew Henry Stickney Jr.
Roger leaves behind his wife of 55 years, Sally (Stickney) Johnson, his son Barry, wife Jacqueline and beloved grandson Andrew from Kirkland, WA. Roger especially enjoyed following his grandson’s baseball games from across the country on his I-pad, watching/listening to each pitch thrown, every at bat and game highlights made the distance between them not so distant. He and Sally also enjoyed yearly cruises to Hawaii, South America and the Caribbean and attending classic car shows with friends in both Florida and Massachusetts. At each New Year’s Eve party, he would make a special appearance as “Father Time”. He was the community’s weekly coffee hour entertainment, telling jokes and humorous stories to over 150 people. almost all of them black, in adoptive homes,' he said with pride. Roger found his second wind as he participated in the Men’s club helping community members with small house projects, Bowling league and Men’s golf league. With three adopted sons of his own, the church father has witnessed the phenomenal. To continue with accredited flying hours, he flew as co-pilot out of Gardner/Fitchburg airports for his sales job with Haywood-Wakefield to New York, Chicago and High Point, North Carolina.įor 17 years, Roger and his wife Sally enjoyed spending the winters soaking up the sun at their home in Ellenton, Florida.
He attained his student pilots license from Fitchburg Airport in 1959, soloing in a Piper Cub. Roger loved airplanes and attending airshows with his father and friends were yearly highlights. After the Haywood-Wakefield Company closed, Roger went on to work for Sprague & Carlton in Keene, NH and Nichols & Stone, Inc., of Gardner MA, retiring in 2002 as Purchasing Manager. He started in the Customer Service Department and worked his way into the Sales and Marketing department frequently traveling across the country attending dealer and furniture trade shows.
Roger was very grateful to the Haywood-Wakefield Company for not only launching his career but also for keeping his job open upon his return from serving overseas. Roger spent his whole life and took great pride working in the furniture manufacturing industry. Receiving his draft notice from the United States Army in 1961, he actively served 2 years, stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia then overseas in Korea within the Military Police he fulfilled his duty with an additional 4 years in the reserves, receiving an honorable discharge in 1967 with rank as Sargent. Roger graduated from Templeton High School in 1956. Johnson, 84 a resident of Ellenton, Florida, formerly of Baldwinville, MA, passed away Monday, March 21st at Freedom Village of Bradenton, Florida.īorn in Gardner, MA on March 14, 1938, he was the son of the late Thorsten and Helen (Kelly) Johnson.