Theresa M. Johnson

On January 21, 1945, Theresa Ellen Maloney was born in Bronx, NY. She spent her formative years in White Plains, NY and graduated from White Plains High School in 1961. She was offered a full scholarship at St. Lawrence University, where she graduated with honors in Mathematics in 1965.

Theresa (Terry) enrolled as a graduate student at Columbia University and spent the remainder of her life on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Her most cherished moment of Columbia was when she met fellow student, Bruce D. Johnson, of Brookings, SD. They married at Broadway Presbyterian Church on December 21, 1968. Together, they celebrated the purchase of a Co-op apartment and Bruce’s PhD in Sociology in May 1971 and joyfully welcomed the arrival of their only child, Amanda, in 1972.

Professionally, Terry worked as a part-time COBOL programmer with Equitable Life Assurance for eighteen years, and later Deutsche Bank and Bank of New York. Meanwhile, she immersed herself in parenting and community leadership activities, especially at P.S. 166, Broadway Presbyterian Church and St. Agnes Branch library. In 1992, the Johnsons were founding members of Broadway Community, Inc.

She was an enthusiastic member of countless New York City Organizations: Central Park Conservancy, Riverside Park Conservancy, NYPL Bigelow Society, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, the Roundabout Theatre, Community Free Democrats, the Bronx Zoo, WQXR, Museum of Natural History, the Frick Museum, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. She also supported environmental and political groups, especially the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood and Emily’s List.

Throughout her life, Terry loved travel and exploration. She traveled Europe for three months by herself in 1966 and returned many times with her family over the next forty years. Additionally, she was certified as a scuba diver in 1985 and often reflected on her amazing dives in Bonaire, Australia, and Palau. After Terry’s retirement, she and Bruce traveled to Spain, Japan, and Africa.

While she battled uterine cancer in 2008 and suffered the sudden loss of her husband in 2009, the love from her family and friends helped her move forward. She remained an active volunteer of the St. Agnes Branch library book sales and was looking forward to the reopening this fall.

Her greatest joy was visiting her grandchildren or having them visit her in NYC. She was loved and will be missed dearly.

Theresa (Terry) Maloney Johnson is survived by her daughter, Amanda and son-in-law Sam Kennedy of Boston, MA; two grandchildren, James W. Kennedy, and Allison R. Kennedy. She also leaves behind four siblings: Thomas, John, James, and Geraldine Maloney.