Obituary of Barbara Bonn Johnson

Barbara Bonn Johnson March 12, 1932 – August 30, 2017 Barbara Bonn Johnson, died on August 30, 2017 at age 85. Barbara was the mother of six children, a life-long educator, avid reader, ardent Democrat, championship bridge player and an almost 50-year-resident of Barrington and Riverside, RI. Born to Frances and Kenneth Bonn in Salt Lake City, Utah, Barbara was the first of three children. As the Great Depression persisted, her family moved to Mahnomen, Minnesota to run a restaurant near the railroad station. Mahnomen is a small rural community in northwest Minnesota that lies entirely within the White Earth Indian Reservation. At the time, Mahnomen was a major stop for trains traveling between the Twin Cities and Winnipeg. It was in Mahnomen that Barbara developed her passion for reading, love of learning and attachment to under served children. When she was 9, Barbara’s father tragically died in a car accident. Seven years later, Frances married Richard Coughlin, a conductor on the Soo Line railroad. Shortly after their marriage, Barbara graduated from Mahnomen High School and set her sights on higher education. A gifted student, Barbara enrolled at Macalester College and received a bachelors degree in early childhood education. She taught kindergarten for several years outside Minneapolis before marrying and starting a family. She became an active member of the Minnesota League of Women Voters and an early advocate for children with learning disabilities. In 1967 Barbara moved with her family to Barrington, R.I. where she embraced life by the seashore. She remained active in the League of Women Voters, helped found the Rhode Island Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, and participated for over 40 years in a Barrington-based “discussion group” that met to dissect books, movies and plays. After her children left for college, Barbara returned to the classroom where she specialized in teaching students with English as a second Language (ESL). To advance her ESL skills, she earned a masters’ degree in Education at Rhode Island College. For almost 20 years, Barbara taught inner-city students from diverse backgrounds at the Asa Messer Elementary School in Providence, RI. Her classrooms were alive with energetic learning, murals, experiments and displays. In retirement, Barbara took up “a second residence” at the Barrington Public Library, travelled extensively, enrolled in numerous adult education programs and taught bridge on cruise ships. She enjoyed life. Barbara Johnson was preceded in death by her brother, Paul Bonn, her sister Rebecca Siegel, her children Daniel Richard Johnson and Carol Lynn Johnson and her parents Frances Coughlin and Leo Kenneth Bonn. Barbara is survived by her children: David Johnson (Terri Brady), Douglas Johnson (Aleta), Susan Israel (Eric), and Elizabeth Johnson (Anthony Lobash) and her grandchildren Derek Johnson (Natalia), Kimberly Barnes (Chris), Rachel Nims (Michael), Jake Israel and Henry Lobash. A Service in her memory will be held at: St. Andrew’s School Chapel in Barrington, RI at 1 PM on October 28, 2017. The family asks that memorial gifts support the Barrington Public Library through the “Friends of the Library” at https://www.barringtonlibrary.org/friends or North Memorial Hospice Foundation at https://northmemorial.com/donate. The family would like to express their special thanks to all of her caregivers at the J A Wedum Hospice Residence in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.