Jean Johnson

Jean Hagan Johnson passed away peacefully on December 20 at the age of 102. A Tallahassee resident for 49 years, she was born in Piedmont, California, on April 3, 1918, to Hershell L. Hagan, a vice-president of Rexall and Dart Drugs, and Louise McKean Hagan, a talented classical singer and pianist. After graduating early at age 16 as Valedictorian of her high school class, Jean went to UC-Berkeley where she majored in French language and literature. Before World War II, she married Carl Abbott, a Stanford Law attorney, and the two split their time living in Honolulu and Piedmont with their sons, Richard and Thomas (Tim) Abbott.

Shortly after the onset of World War II, Jean and Carl were divorced. Jean and her sons remained near her parents in Oakland where Jean helped in the war effort as a working civilian. She met a dashing young Navy pilot, Lieutenant Commander Richard H. Johnson, who was temporarily stationed on Treasure Island outside of San Francisco between his two tours of duty flying in the Pacific during the war. They fell in love immediately and she impatiently waited out the war while he completed his duties as squadron commander of his patrol bomber fleet. After the war, Lt. Cdr. Johnson came back to the mainland, married Jean in May 1945, and took the family to such "exotic" Navy bases as Hutchinson, Kansas, and Beaufort, South Carolina. In 1947, he left the Navy to fly with Eastern Air Lines (becoming forever the "Captain") and moved Jean and the family to Miami where Eastern was headquartered. In 1946 and 1947, Steven and Karen arrived, and the family of six lived in Miami until they moved to Washington, D.C. in 1963 where the Captain was both a flight instructor and senior pilot for Eastern.

In 1967, Jean and the Captain returned to Miami. When the Captain was selected to become one of the first of Eastern's pilots to fly the new Airbus A300 jet aircraft, Jean accompanied him to Toulouse, France, where the plane was manufactured, so that she could be the Captain's French interpreter and he could engage in training at the Airbus facility.

Jean and the Captain were a close-knit team. She was active in community affairs, including the Junior League in Miami, Northern Virginia and Tallahassee, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Recording for the Blind. She was an outstanding cook (which won her the name "Kitchen Queen"), was always a phenomenal mom, and became known as "Mater" by her sons and their friends. While the Captain was away on flights, she managed the house and the family finances, fed and mentored the four children, and made certain that the Captain's prized Labrador retrievers were kept in considerable comfort.

The Captain loved duck hunting and retriever field trials. Tallahassee was home to the closest retriever club from Miami, so Jean helped him find their first Tallahassee site on Centerville Road and named it "Mallard Hill." Jean designed the cabin they built on the site so that they had a place to stay when he needed to be in Tallahassee for field trials hosted by the North Florida Amateur Retriever Club (NFARC).

They continued to live in Miami for several years but had fallen in love with Tallahassee and decided they wanted to move there while the Captain was still flying even though it would involve the Captain's changing his base to Atlanta and commuting by air to Atlanta to fly his aircraft. While visiting the cabin one day in 1971, they spotted a "For Sale" sign for a large farm on old Route 7 in Miccosukee (now Veterans Memorial Drive ), and the rest is history. They sold the Centerville Road property and named the new site "Mallard Hill Farm" where Jean and Dick ended up living most happily during the rest of his Eastern career and for the rest of their lives. On the farm, Jean became immersed in the business of farming and cattle and helped the Captain with field crops, Charolais cattle raising, and NFARC field trials.

Jean became close friends with Louise Humphrey who was a nearby neighbor at her Woodfield Springs home and active in outdoor activities and whose family had owned and later donated Pebble Hill Plantation to the state of Georgia for historical preservation purposes. Jean was later asked by the Humphrey family to author several books relating to the Humphrey clan (going back to Mark Hanna, a close political associate of President William McKinley), including 2 books about Pebble Hill, one featuring recipes of the best foods prepared at that magnificent location and one about the history of the women who ran Pebble Hill. The Captain and Louise often went duck hunting together, both being avid hunters. Jean and Louise shared a deep love of music, and these passions cemented the years of close friendship between Jean and the Captain and Louise and her husband.

The Captain passed away in November 2015 at age 95 and she survived him by five years. She will be deeply missed by her surviving children and friends, including Tim Abbott and his wife Carole, Steve Johnson, Karen Russell, daughter-in-law Vivian Abbott, their families, and surrogate son Jack Dykes and wife Mary , all of whom dearly loved Mater as a great cook, an avid crossword puzzle fan, a skilled bridge player, a marvelously intelligent lady with exquisite taste, and a beautiful person with deep love for her husband and her children.

The family wishes to express its deep thanks to the many caregivers of Visiting Angels who have taken such loving care of Mater, especially during her last days.

A memorial service will be held as soon as conditions with Covid-19 permit.