Lucille DiMichele Johnson

LUCILLE DiMICHELE JOHNSON (nee Marino), age 91. Beloved wife of the late Richard DiMichele for 19 years, and the late Theodore “Ted” Johnson for 32 years; devoted mother of Richard DiMichele (Sabrina), Mary Rita Thompson (Michael), Lydia Byczek (Dave), Martin DiMichele (Rise’), and the late Rose Anne Shaerban; cherished grandmother of 11 and great grandmother of 14; caring sister of Rita Dunagan (Don), John Marino (Leslie), and the late Mafalda Koskey (Robert).

Lucille was the third of Lucille and Anthony Marino’s four children.   She grew up in the Corlett neighborhood around East 131st Street in Cleveland, Ohio.  She attended Corlett Elementary, Alexander Hamilton Junior High and John Adams High School.  

Lucille was the first in her family to attain a college degree, earning her own tuition to attend Kent State, where she graduated in 1955 with a teaching degree.  At Kent State, she met her first husband, Dick, the father of Lucille’s five children. 

Lucille worked as a substitute teacher while she and Dick raised their children on the near West Side before Dick’s sudden death in 1975.  Thereafter, Lucille served as a full-time teacher at Our Lady of Good Counsel Elementary School. 

A life-long Catholic, Lucille’s faith was truly her guiding light. She regularly attended Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel (now Mary Queen of Peace), where she also sang in the choir and a cantor on Sundays. She was a teacher of the Catholic faith, leading Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) programs to instruct persons interested in becoming Catholic.  Outside of formal teaching, she never missed an opportunity to proclaim her beliefs and share her faith.  She was also a member of the Companions of the Precious Blood, a group formed to support the ministry of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood religious orders.   

Lucille met and married Ted Johnson at Good Counsel. Ted and she were married for 32 years when he passed away in 2015.  

She was proud to be a lifelong Clevelander and resident of Old Brooklyn.  As a baseball fan, her love of the “local nine” (the “Indians” to her) dated to the days of Al Rosen, Lou Boudreau, and “Rapid Robert“ Feller.  

She was also active as a Girl Scout leader, poll judge and as a volunteer at the Cleveland IX Center. A lifetime blood donor and volunteer at Deaconess Hospital, Lucille never stopped helping others. Late in life, she crocheted hats to donate to cancer patients and newborns  

Lucille loved to travel. She and Dick took family camping trips, though the kids weren’t always thrilled.  She and Ted enjoyed a trip to Hawaii and severalcross-country rail adventures, while Lucille visited Italy, London, and France with her children’s families or as a chaperone for school trips.   She was thrilled in 2023 to finally make a pilgrimage to the Catholic holy site in Lourdes, France with her son Marty and daughter Mary Rita.  

Lucille loved her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and encouraged them to always “be good and do your best.”  She was a living example of that advice.  

In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the Holy Family Home Hospice 6707 State Rd., Parma OH 44134.

Mass of Christian Burial 10:00 a.m. Friday, September 13, 2024 at Mary Queen of Peace Parish, 4423 Pearl Rd., Cleveland. EVERYONE PLEASE MEET AT CHURCH Interment Holy Cross Cemetery.

The family will receive friends THURSDAY 4-7 PM with the Holy Rosary at 6:45 pm at the A. RIPEPI & SONS FUNERAL HOME, 18149 BAGLEY ROAD, MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS (WEST OF I-71).