Obituary of Robert W. Johnson

Robert W. Johnson of Endicott, died March 13, 2023 at Lourdes Hospital. He was born in Harlem, NY in 1937 to Gustaf and Ellen Johnson. The youngest of five children, much of his young life was in an environment of poverty. His siblings; Rita, Gus, Lillian and Elaine have pre-deceased him. Bob's sister Rita loved her youngest brother and was instrumental in nourishing him both spiritually and physically. Bob attended St. Matthew's Lutheran elementary school and grew in his love for his Lord and Savior. Bob was excited to be accepted into the Bronx Science High School and realized that chemistry was the occupation he would like to pursue. Bob attended NYU as an evening student. Bob met his future wife Hilde at a fellowship event at St. Peter's Church in Manhattan. They married in 1965. Bob was working at IBM at the time. They decided it was important to continue his education. He was granted a leave of absence from IBM, he completed his degree at Queens College in 1968 and he and Hilde welcomed their first child Erik. Now as a family they moved to Carmel, NY and Bob returned to IBM Research in Yorktown. The family grew as Beth and then Karen completed the family, life was good. Then came the grandchildren, Jonathan, Kirsten, Faith, and Michael. 1981 gave Bob an opportunity to continue working for IBM in Endicott. Bob and Hilde faced tragedy which only strengthen their marriage through the deaths of their daughter Beth in 2001 and son Erik in 2021. Bob sang in church groups and had a beautiful bass voice. He was a member of the IBM Visiting Wizards, visiting local schools and exciting the children with scientific experiments and explanations. Experiencing hunger as a child he and Hilde donated time at the Salvation Army and various church groups, providing meals and support to those in need. He was thankful to be able to travel to Alaska, Hawaii, Germany, Spain, and Sweden, as well as other areas with people he loved. Retirement gave him the opportunity to spend more time enjoying classical music, working on the Sunday Times puzzle, reading books by James Patterson "sometimes in large print", revisiting his favorite movie Casablanca and enjoying occasional well-made Manhattans. As Bob journeyed through life, friends were his life-line in times of joy and sadness and although there were many wonderful folks; Trudi and Sig, Joyce and Martin, Joanne and Bob, Jane and Jason, Louis and Paula and Pastor Nissi. A memorial service will be held Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 12:30pm at Living Hope Church, 29 Grant Ave., Endicott. The service can be watched on line at: http://ourlivinghope.church/livestream or http://www.facebook.com/livinghopechurchny In lieu of flowers, pray for world peace or a donation to the Food Bank of the Southern Tier or Living Hope Church.