Robert Johnson; executive, father, friend liked people
Back when Bob Johnson coached his children's teams, the family's schedule was often hectic. With a son and two daughters playing sports, he was out at a game or a practice almost every evening.
"We used to pray for rain so we could sit down one night together for a hot meal," said his wife, Karen.
As the children grew up and went off to college, Mr. Johnson kept attending their contests. The family traded in one car when the odometer clicked past 160,000, most of the miles logged during road trips for games. When his daughter Deborah played in a basketball tournament in Eau Claire, Wis., Mr. Johnson and his wife flew to Milwaukee and drove four hours to the arena.
"He would travel wherever he needed to be there to watch us play," said his daughter Nancy Holtschlag of Hingham. "He was just there, whenever you needed him, whatever you needed him for."
Mr. Johnson, who started Century Mailing with his father and brother, died of cancer Dec. 11 at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was 65.
Mr. Johnson had moved back to Hingham earlier this year. He had previously lived there for more than three decades.
"He was just the ultimate husband and father," his daughter said. "He was generous to a fault. He owned his own business for 35 years and treated his employees like family and his family like gold."
Robert S. Johnson was born in Newton and was attending Newton High School when he met Karen Stone, the girl he would marry. He was 16; she was 15.
"He was doing his mother a favor and came collecting for a charity, and he knocked on my door," his wife said. "Even back then he was always helping someone else out."
Mr. Johnson graduated from Newton High School in 1962 and went to Tufts University, his father's alma mater, and graduated in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in political science. He stayed to get a master's in education, graduating in 1966, and then taught history in the Newton school system for seven years.
With his father, Burton, and his brother, Donald of Newton, he operated Century Mailing, a direct mail processing company that was based in Braintree and moved to East Randolph at the end of the 1980s. Burton Johnson died in 1983.
All three of his children - Richard, Nancy, and Deborah, who all live in Hingham - worked in the family business, which grew from a small operation to a company employing more than 100 people. Mr. Johnson sold Century Mailing several years ago.
After starting their marriage in Newton, Mr. Johnson and his wife moved to Hingham because "we wanted a small town," she said, and her husband quickly found his niche, immersing himself in the community, coaching youth teams, and working with parent-teacher organizations.
Most of all, though, Mr. Johnson was always there for his family, particularly in difficult times, such as when his daughter Nancy received a serious diagnosis after playing varsity softball during her freshman year at Harvard University.
"I had Hodgkin's disease when I was in college," she said. "He was my nursemaid, my number one supporter getting through that."
And after Richard Johnson was injured in a car crash earlier this year, his father reprised his role as steadfast helper.
"He's the rock of the family and always there for everybody," Nancy said.
Karen Johnson and her children, three grandsons, and two granddaughters will join with friends in celebrating Mr. Johnson's life today at 2 p.m. in Old Ship Parish House in Hingham. 