Maryanna Johnston Rhemann

Maryanna Johnston Rhemann, teacher, educational leader, mother, and friend, passed away on November 13, 2019. She was born in Livingston, Texas to public school teachers Glen Lee and Mae Perkins Johnston May 9, 1936. Kind and patient teachers, her parents nurtured her love of education and belief that every child was special and capable of learning.

She grew up on Houston’s Eastside and attended JP Henderson Elementary, where her uncle John Cody Perkins served as principal. Uncle Cody built an excellent teaching staff and created an environment where children relished learning. She believed he provided a foundation that allowed her to do the same in the schools she later led.

She attended Jackson Middle School (now Navarro) and graduated from Austin High School in 1954. Her high school years were filled with Scottish Brigade where she held the rank of Captain and performed as a drummer and Methodist Youth Foundation at Epworth United Methodist Church. She attended Sam Houston State University and graduated in 1957. At Sam Houston, she joined the Eclectics (becoming the Delta Kappa chapter of Alpha Chi Omega in 1959) and served as its President in 1956 – 1957. As a college student, Maryanna enjoyed learning from her uncle William Coy Perkins, SHSU Dean of Public Service. A consummate mentor and connector, he inspired her to hone those skills throughout her career.

She taught multiple elementary grades at several schools including Zilker (Austin), Lewis (Houston), campuses in LaGrange and Giddings, Ada Henderson (Cameron), Pearl Hall (Pasadena) and Northampton (Klein). Along the way, she squeezed in evening and summer courses at University of Houston ¬– Clear Lake to earn a master’s in educational administration. Upon completing her seventeenth year of teaching, she moved into administration, serving first as an assistant principal at Benfer (Klein) and then as its principal. In 1989, she opened Kuehnle Elementary, named for early Klein settlers committed to education. She felt privileged to partner with the Kuehnle family throughout the building process. She led the Kuehnle faculty and staff until her retirement in 2008. In 2013, the school honored her commitment to children’s literacy by renaming the library after her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Glen Lee and Mae Perkins Johnston; husbands the Reverend Perry Dean Richardson and Eugene Evans Rhemann; and brother Robert Giles Johnston. She is survived by her son, James Giles Richardson of Durham, NC; daughter, Susan Richardson Barnes and husband John of Houston; and stepson, Edward Eugene Rhemann and wife Holly of Camano Island, WA; sister Glenda Sue Cummings and husband David of Columbia, Maryland; niece Diana Cummings and husband Jeremy Simon of Bethesda, Maryland; great nephews, Matthew and Jason Simon of Bethesda; numerous loyal friends, teachers, and generations of students.

Graveside services were held Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at Cook Walden Capital Parks Cemetery in Pflugerville, Texas. A memorial celebration of her life will be held Friday, December 6, 2019 at 4 p.m. at The Woodlands United Methodist Church with a reception immediately following (2200 Lake Woodlands Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77380).

Her family wishes to thank the staff at Holly Hall Retirement Community for providing excellent and compassionate care to her over the last year. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any memorials be made to the Coy and Ruth Perkins Scholarship Fund at Sam Houston State University, or the charity of your choice.