ORONO – Barbara Johnson, 65, died March 22, 2005. She was born Dec. 15, 1939, in Lawrence, Mass. Her last years she lived in Orono with the last few months, residing at Brewer Rehab. Her family moved to Maine and ran a motel. When her father passed away, Barbara and her mother ran the motel until Barbara decided to go back to college. She was a graduate of the University of Maine, Orono, with an associate’s degree. She attended the University of Maine, Augusta, Bangor campus for her Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services. She was committed to the ideals that women didn’t need to be isolated and that all women should be able to come together and participate in recreational activities. She was one of the founding members of WAR, Women and Recreation against Isolation. She had worked for the Maine Independent Living Services to help with the disabled and to make sure they had the services that they needed to be able to stay independent for as long as possible. She had worked at Bangor Mental Health Institute before she returned to school. Barbara was a true inspiration and well loved through the whole community that she served and she turned the phrase “Once a survivor, now a thriver” into new meaning. She committed her time to help mental health consumers to strive to be a voice in the system and was tireless in her pursuit to have all mental health and dually diagnosed people have a voice in a system that needs to hear those voices. Her belief system served her well that she could do anything that she wanted, if she put her mind to it and she did accomplish more than any provider ever thought possible. She was an active advocate for all consumers and trauma survivors alike. She will be missed and a great voice is silenced now. But not her spirit that helped consumers to be more than what they think they can. She was predeceased by her father, mother; and her brother, James. She will be sorely missed by those that were close to her; Janice Nye, Jim Hamilton and his wife, Robin, Eleanor Perkins and Linda Estes. The candle is extinguished now but not her spirit. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at Holy Family Parish, 429 Main St., Old Town, with the Rev. Normand P. Richard, celebrant. Gifts in her memory may be made to St. Joseph’s Healthcare, P.O. Box 1638, Bangor, ME 04402-1638. Arrangements by Brookings-Smith, LaBeau Chapel, Orono.
BARBARA JOHNSON
