Mary Catherine Johnson

Mary was born on July 23, 1959 in Washington, DC to Theodore Robert Johnson and Doris Walther Johnson. She grew up in Fairfax County, VA with her parents and her brother Erik, and attended the excellent public school programs for students with special needs at Lincolnia School, Holmes Center, and Key Center.

After completing her education, Mary worked for many years at ServiceSource (originally Fairfax Opportunities Unlimited), an employment resource for the developmentally disabled. Her duties included what she described as “checking” (quality control), packing medical kits for overseas service members, and collating government reports. Mary greatly enjoyed being part of the ServiceSource family and had numerous friends there.

Mary had a wonderful and positive personality, a clever sense of humor, an inventive vocabulary, was extremely polite - and was a joy to all who knew her. She enjoyed events including family get-togethers; dances and picnics; arts & crafts and dance classes; swimming; and church. She was an enthusiastic fan of the hometown football team and of golf tournaments - both of which she enjoyed watching with her brother Erik, who became her legal Guardian in 2009. After the deaths of her parents in 2010, Mary moved to a group home for special needs women in Fairfax, VA where she received excellent, compassionate care throughout her 12 years there.

Mary was blessed with good health but in recent years developed Alzheimer's disease, which coupled with her Down’s Syndrome contributed to her recent health challenges. She was hospitalized for three weeks in both January and September/October where she received outstanding care, was very resilient, and was able to return to her group home both times, where she continued to receive wonderful support.

Mary lived a long and happy life, and we can take great comfort that she will now be reunited with her parents and many other relatives and friends. A Memorial Service is scheduled for Saturday, November 5th at 10 AM at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 825 S. Taylor Street, Arlington, VA – which Mary regularly attended, and where earlier in life she had participated in a Sunday School program for special needs participants. She will be inurned in the Columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery with her parents at a later date.