ANNE SCHNEE JOHNSON

ORONO – Anne Schnee Johnson, a resident of Orono, died Dec. 14, 2004, at her home after a courageous year- long battle with cancer. Anne liked people; she enjoyed meeting them and getting to know them, sharing interests, including them in her activities, and creating and enjoying things together. She was one of those people who light up this world with their generosity, warmth and spirit, an inspiration to never stop trying to make good things happen, to surround one’s self with interesting and engaged people, to think, to question, to laugh and to have a large pot of soup handy. She worked hard to make friends and had a large number; they will miss her greatly. Her most particular pride and enjoyment came from her sons and their families; Douglas Johnson and Jo Finley, Scott Johnson, and Gordon and Eileen Sylvan Johnson, and their daughters, Kristina and Catherine Anne. She was born June 16, 1928, the daughter of Vernon Higgs Schnee and Evelyn Hieber Schnee, and raised in Ohio, graduating from Arlington High School in 1946. At Cornell University she was president of the Junior Class and of Kappa Alpha Sorority. She graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics and from Massachusetts General Hospital as a Registered Dietitian in 1951. She earned her Master of Education degree at the University of Maine in 1984. Anne married Jeremy Johnson on June 11, 1951 and spent the next three years moving around southern California and Hawaii with him in the Navy, then back to Cornell for two years and then they settled in Woodbury, Conn. There she became active in the Flanders Nature Center and a member of the early Board of Directors. Active in its programs in agriculture and nature education for children, she acquired interest and knowledge which became the focus of her volunteer activities from then on. Moving back to Ithaca in 1966, she assisted with nature projects in the schools and took graduate courses in Environmental Education at Cornell. Moving to Orono in 1970, she was very aware of the difficulties faced by those joining a new community and worked hard to meet people and to welcome new arrivals. She particularly enjoyed Women of the World. Hosting a “son” from Finland led to another and learning Finnish and visiting the boys and their families many times. This, in turn, led to active participation in AFS and in other programs which provided visits from adult citizens of other countries. As her family grew older she returned to work as Manager of Dining Hall Programs at the University of Maine. She encouraged the use of local Maine foods in the cafeterias and initiated a vegetarian line in Wells Commons which grew into the provision of a vegetarian entree at each of the cafeterias, each of the meals. She started, with student assistants, the Soup Kitchen one night a week; grew into a much larger facility, several nights a week, all student operated and organized and she formed Student Nutrition Teams which provided programs on good nutrition to the students in dormitories. She mentored many of the young women who worked with her on those projects and remained in good contact with them as they went on to careers and families. She became increasingly aware of the importance of local agriculture and of organic agriculture and worked to educate people about them. She was one of the co-Founders of the Orono Farmers’ Market in 1992. A strong supporter of the Page Farm and Home Museum, she served as Chair of the Program Committee for four years, as Vice Chair of the Board in 1997-99, and continued her interest in its programs. For the past 20 years she has been an active member of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and a member of its Education Committee since 1999. She organized the School Garden Network in 2003 to help to support efforts to give children hands-on education and held its first workshop in the fall of 2003. Friends may visit 4-6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14, 2005, at the Page Farm and Home Museum, University of Maine (581-4100). Contributions in Anne’s memory may be made to MOFGA, PO Box 170, Unity, ME 04988. Arrangements by Memorial Alternatives, 1225 Broadway, Bangor.