Helen Buffum Johnson, 99 years old, lifelong resident of Brunswick and
former Registrar of Bowdoin College, died at Thornton Hall on May 20, 2020 with
her nephews David and Ben Johnson by her bedside. The cause of death was a life
well lived and unrelated to COVID19.
Born January 19, 1921, in Providence, RI, Helen was the daughter of
Dr. Henry and Mary Buffum Johnson. She
moved to Brunswick in 1927 when her father became the college physician at
Bowdoin. She attended Longfellow School
in Brunswick, later graduating from St. Margaret’s School in
Waterbury, CT. She attended Colby Junior
College and Connecticut College for Women.
Helen joined the administration at Bowdoin in 1943 as a receptionist
and secretary before becoming the college Registrar, a position she held for 33
years until her retirement in 1981. Generations of Bowdoin students will
remember her as the kind and efficient problem solver who occasionally smoked a
pipe and cruised about campus in a black Pontiac convertible with red leather
seats.
Helen was a member of the American Association of Collegiate
Registrars and Admissions Officers, a founder, corporator and Trustee of
Brunswick’s Regional Memorial Hospital and a member of the Pejepscot Historical
Society.
In the 1940’s, Helen excelled in the early days of photography winning
national and local awards for images of her favorite subjects, nature and
animals. An avid traveler, Helen crisscrossed the globe visiting Mexico, Europe
and Africa. She especially loved the National Parks of America and Canada and
visited almost all of them, returning to her favorites time and time again.
Universally referred to as "the sweet lady” by staff and fellow
residents at Thornton Hall, in 99 years walking this earth Helen never raised
her voice or uttered an unkind word.
Lovingly known as Hahna by her family, Helen was predeceased by her
brother, Robert, in 2018, her brother, Lincoln, in 1996, and lifelong family
friend, Sophie Dubreuil (2011), with whom she lived in Brunswick for more than
70 years. She is also predeceased by her niece, Mary, who died in 1988.
Hahna will be dearly missed by her loving family of nine nieces and
nephews and their 23 children:
David and Kara Johnson of Brunswick, and their children Claire,
Isaiah, Henry and Noah; Ben and Jessica Johnson of Brunswick, and their
children Robert and Jackie; Peter and Carolyn Johnson of Hopkinton, MA, and
their children Emma and Stephanie; Anne and Wind Evans of Providence, RI, and
their children Sam and Mary; Tom and Maria Johnson of Westborough, MA, and
their children Graceann and Charlie; John and Deniz Johnson of Great Falls, VA,
and their children Aydin, Devran, Max and Carly; Suzy and Bruce Snyder of
Caroga Lake, NY, and their children Jermain and Geoff; Jermain Johnson of Old
Lyme, CT, and her children Tim, Whitney, Samantha and Max; and Frederick
Johnson of Franklin, NH.
Helen Johnson loved animals.
For most of her life, she always had one or more dogs, Bedlingtons, Fox
Terriers and English Setters, among her favorites. In lieu of flowers, give your dog an extra treat. Be kind to someone in her honor. Try not to raise your voice.
A funeral service at Stetson’s Funeral Home in Brunswick will be held
at a later date followed by burial in the Johnson family plot in Westerly, RI.
Memorial condolences may be expressed at stetsonsfuneralhome.com