Covid kept us apart this year, but my love for you is never ending. Thank you for such a great life. Your loving daughter, Laraine

Frances was just a wonderful lady. 
In her later years she was very apprehensive of passing the peace in Church. She just didn't want to get ill, so I always had hand sanitizer to share with her.😊
She had said a number of times that; "I've never seen you without a smile." 
She was being very kind because other's have.😁
I'll so miss her and think the world of her and her family.
Love, her and her family. 😊

The passing of Frances Johnson at age 97 was not entirely unexpected or particularly tragic but the magnitude of that loss in the lives of her family and friends is immense.  An uncommonly kind person, she was a moral and spiritual role model for multiple generations, most of whom consider her home in Portland as a part of their own childhood home. Never was there a place to feel more welcome. 

We visited Portland several times each year throughout my childhood and it was always a highly anticipated event.  Her home was the base camp for generations of family, the Home in ‘Home for the Holidays.’ And she was the central force that made it so special. Ad hoc family retreats would ebb and flow as the visits of new arrivals would always seem to overlap with the departure of others.     

It’s no exaggeration to say that Grammie was a paragon of goodness. She imbued a moral authority such that disappointing her through some personal shortcoming was a painful prospect that was to be avoided at all costs. In all the years spent visiting Byfield Road, I can’t recall a single profanity uttered or a single beer can pop open. 

Grammie played a big role in my life and taught me life lessons I still carry with me today.  A few years ago she told me the thing she liked best about me was that I was “nostalgic” which I took as an incredible compliment. How could one not be nostalgic for such a family, for such memories, and for such an incredible and loving grandmother? 

I was incredibly blessed to be her grandson and, like everyone that knew her, I will miss her greatly.



All the family gatherings in the backyard and then our trip to the Lobsta Shack and Lighthouse.  And the fear that my husband would let out a curse word in Aunt Frannie’s presence. 

Frances, my mother-in-law, was always “Frannie” to me.  She was an anchor for me and Lori from the day we married, which was over 62 years ago.  During the early years we leaned on her a lot, and she always was there for us.  I really admired her ability to steer a steady course through good times and bad.  Her strength of character and high moral values were apparent to everyone who knew her. We will miss her greatly, but comforted that her legacy will live on through her loving family.

She had so many names, but I simply called her Mrs. Johnson.  She was my dearly beloved neighbor, and Eileen was my childhood friend.  She loved me and scolded me.  "What do you mean Eileen and I smell like smoke" (after we took a frying pan into the woods, lit a fire and cooked popcorn).  She was my Camp Fire Girl Leader, and sitting at her dining room table for 70 years will always be a most treasured memory.  She was an example of faith and love to all who knew her.  I shall be forever grateful for all those summers of Vacation Bible School at the Methodist Church on Washington Avenue.  In later years when Eileen would visit and we would go off on a Maine adventure, I would love to simply sit with her and catch up before we ran off.  And Leslie, dear Leslie, what a loving daughter to make sure her last many months were spent surrounded by compassion, kindness and faith.  I see the picture of Jesus in Mrs. Johnson's dining room, and I just know in my heart she was one of His cherished children.   "Well done, My good and faithful servant."  Written with love and deepest sympathy.
 

My husband, Mike, is Frances' grandson, and always called her Grammie. Which I always thought was adorable, so I did too. For as long as I've had the privilege of knowing her, Grammie has been so loving and welcoming, and always made me feel like part of the family. She was interesting, funny and quick witted, to be sure. But mostly I found her to truly be one of the kindest and most loving person I've ever known. I am so grateful to have had the pleasure of knowing and loving her.  I'm comforted to know that she is at peace in heaven. She will always be in my heart.  

Rainbow United Methodist Church

Visiting Hours

Funeral Service

Committal Service

George Copp

Lucy (Bowles) Copp

OBITUARY

Frances Celia Johnson

January 21, 1924 – February 20, 2021

Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home

Show your support

Send Flowers

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Reminders

Past Services

Visiting Hours

Funeral Service

Committal Service