Patricia Riley Johnson

Patricia Riley Johnson, BA, MA, minister, social policy wonk, non-profit CEO, author, wine lover, gardener, follower of Martin Luther King, Jr., lover of the color yellow, butterflies and heart rocks, and life-long liberal left this world on January 14, 2017. She lived in Washington, DC.

Patty was born in Appleton, Wisconsin on June 21, 1945 to Evelyn and William Riley. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1967 with majors in social work and political science and earned a master’s degree in social welfare policy from the University of Chicago in 1969. Raised a Roman Catholic, she became an Episcopalian along with her husband Tom. They married in 1969 and settled in Washington DC, spending many decades living in their house in Northwest, enjoying their wondrous neighbors and forever Murch friends.

Patty adored her family and was the proud mother of four sons – each of whom she regarded as “perfect” – along with her nine Perfect Grandchildren, whom she called her “Grands.” Her favorite vacations were those with all the family, although a safari in South Africa was hard to beat.

Early in her career, Patty served as a Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Community Services in HEW where she led the push to clarify the Nixon Administration’s stance on civil rights. After a brief legislative stint with the American Public Welfare Association, she took time to raise her boys, sharing in the joy with Tom. During this time, she consulted with the Office of Child Health Affairs at NIH, wrote a manual for DC families of children with learning issues, and served as President of the Iona Senior Service board, a position she held for seven years. She volunteered extensively while her boys attended Murch Elementary School, finally serving as President of the Parent’s Association. She repeated that record as the boys went on to Sidwell Friends School, and then co-chaired the capital campaign for the new Field School campus on Foxhall Road. Though she may have wanted to, she did not follow her sons to their college campuses.

Hired in 1983 as the first Executive Director of Christmas in April, a non-profit organization dedicated to rebuilding the homes of low-income, elderly, and disabled people, she grew the program into a major local housing force and took it national in 1988. As its founding President and CEO, she travelled extensively across the country, enjoying each low-income neighborhood and the beautiful people who lived in them. In 1995, Patty was named Washingtonian of the Year for her work. As the program grew, Patty and her board took on the Big Kahuna – changing the name to reflect a more year-round, nonsectarian organization focusing on transforming neighborhoods. Rebuilding Together was born and soon over 100,000 volunteers were revitalizing more than 10,000 houses each year. Given her great impact, Patty was recognized by the U.S. Congress for her efforts to assist American families in need.

In 2006, with more than 100,000 homes rehabilitated, Patty announced her retirement. Unable to sit still, she became involved at the Washington National Cathedral, where within a year she was asked to become its Canon Missioner. For the next seven years she facilitated the Cathedral’s social justice and direct service work in the city, country and world. She served on the DC marriage equality steering committee and facilitated several courses at the Cathedral. She greatly valued her gun violence prevention group, which blossomed from an eight-week book group into a major advocacy initiative. It pleased her to marry the fight against gun violence with her love of civil rights and social justice for all. In 2013, Patty was installed as a canon of the National Cathedral by the Bishop of Washington. She loved feeling the closeness of God at the Cathedral – just as she did in her own garden.

At the end of 2015 she retired again, this time to spend more time with her Grandkids and to take care of her ‘lil aging body and soul. However, she could not retire from her work to combat gun violence and continued actively in the Cathedral’s social justice efforts as well as the Wednesday Clergy Fellowship and Black Women for Positive Change. Her mantra “Pray for the Dead but Fight like Hell for the Living” continued to lead her forth.

She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Evelyn and William “Fuzz” Riley. Surviving are her husband, Thomas Dale Johnson, and her four sons, Christopher Riley (Heidi) Johnson of Bronxville, NY; Todd Riley (Bindi) Johnson of Bryn Mawr, PA; Shawn Riley (Heather) Johnson of Chevy Chase, MD and John Scott Riley (Andrew) Johnson of Brooklyn, NY, and her Grands Campbell Grace, Maya Shah, Beckett Dowling, Priya Shah, Leela Shah, Anders Jasper, Madeleine Grace, Kaitlin Riley and Declan Miles – all Johnsons.

A celebration of Patty’s life will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, January 24th, at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. A visitation will be held the evening prior from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm on Monday, January 23rd, at Joseph Gawler’s & Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Ave.

In lieu of flowers, please pray for Patty’s Irish and Dutch soul early and often, and consider contributing to the Saint & Streetfighter Foundation (www.saintandstreetfighter.org), which the family has set up in her honor to continue her work in social justice.