Antoinette E. Johnson

Antoinette Ellen (Carter) Johnson, 78, of Rindge, NH passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family on Monday, October 19, after a stoic battle with cancer.

A lifelong resident of the Mount Monadnock region, she was born October 8, 1937, in Troy, NH, the daughter of Francis and Marie (Blondin) Carter of Troy. On June 29, 1957, she married her high school sweetheart, Donald Francis Johnson, at the Immaculate Conception Church in Troy.

She graduated from Troy High School in 1955 and earned a BA Education from Keene State College in 1972. She taught elementary school for 23 years beginning at the Rindge Elementary School and then Jaffrey Grade School, and then retired in 1981.

Antoinette – Toni, to her friends – was a gentle, compassionate woman with an easy laugh and deep appreciation for the simple pleasures of life, like a cup of coffee with a friend or a few bites of Donald’s hot fudge sundae. She made the Johnson lakeside home a warm and welcoming epicenter for family and friends, and the teacher’s parties hosted there remain legend to this day. In an Old School way that is typical of family matriarchs, Toni was not boastful about her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; instead, she was quietly proud. Any boasting she did was about her students.

Toni was an avid fan of New England sports teams, particularly the New England Patriots and especially quarterback Tom Brady. The closest she ever got to him was at a game in 2012, where she watched her beloved Patriots squish the fish on a perfect 63-degree January day.

The game was always ‘on’ at her home, which she would watch on the TV while nestled into her favorite chair, often knitting. She also enjoyed a rousing game of cards and was quite adept at bid whist, cribbage and set back, a game in which she routinely vanquished her son-in-law and celebrated with her patented cackle and victory whoop, arms raised high in the air. She will be missed terribly, but will never be forgotten.

She was predeceased by her older brother Roland of Vero Beach, FL, on August 12, 2001.

Toni is survived by her husband of 60 years, Donald, of Rindge; son, Keith Johnson of Milford; daughters Debbie Voorhees of Vero Beach, FL; Jodie Johnson of Rindge; Cheryll Vaillancourt of Peterborough; and Lisa McLeod of Northport, FL.

Calling Hours will be held on Thursday, October 22, 2015 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM in the Cournoyer Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 33 River Street, Jaffrey, NH. A funeral service will be held on Friday, October 23, 2015 at 10:00 AM in the Cournoyer Funeral Home & Cremation Center Chapel with Rev. Wilfred Deschamps officiating. Burial will follow in the family lot, Hillside Cemetery, Rindge, NH