Barbara Ann Johnson, a well known resident of Chula Vista since 1980, passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer on Friday, April 19.
Born December 29, 1932 in Bloomington, Illinois, Johnson attended the University of Illinois in Normal and got her Masters in Spanish at New York University (NYU). She then worked as a Spanish teacher at PJ Jacobs High School in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. She met her first husband, Norman Johnson, while working in his father´s company in Chicago.
In 1963, Barbara and Norman owned a home and vacationed often in Cozumel, Mexico where they became friends with Julio Blanco Polanco and his family, who owned a dive shop. After their respective divorces, Barbara and Julio met again in the late 1970s and moved to Lakeside in 1980. After an exhaustive search, the couple bought land in Chula Vista. Johnson drew a picture of the home that she wanted and Julio built it to her specifications.
Barbara and Julio were married while attending the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.
Johnson was an active member of the community volunteering as treasurer of both the Music Appreciation Society and St. Andrew´s Anglican Church. She belonged to a group of avid needle pointers and loved to take long walks along the lake with her friends. After studying with H & R Block, she was a tax preparer for expats in the area from 1980 until 2008.
Johnson is predeceased by her parents, Henry and Bertha Miller, and one sister June. She is survived by her children, Norma (Buck) Hilliard of Peach Tree, Georgia; Nancy Brown of Boston, Massachusetts; Donald (Katherine) Johnson of Washington, DC; and Carol (Jim) Bryan of Hurst, Texas, along with her grandchildren Zachary and Norman Hilliard, Emily, Benjamin, and Nicholas Johnson, and Steven and Kelly Bryan.
Her step-children Karla (Fernand) Salazar and Anita Blanco and step-grandchildren Anita My and Sandy Valeria and Karla and Fernand Salazar also survive her.
A traditional Mexican wake was held in their home on April 19 and a service of committal for the repose of the soul was held at the columbarium of St. Andrew´s Anglican Church on Monday, April 22.
Barbara will be sorely missed by her many friends.