Eric Young Johnson – 50th Reunion Essay

Eric Young Johnson

Date of Death: 25-Sep-2013

College: Timothy Dwight

(This memorial, from the Connecticut Post, appears on the Class Website, along with the remembrance of Woody Collins, which appeared in the March/April 2014 Class Notes.)

Eric Young Johnson, born September 27, 1947, in Berlin, Germany. Died: September 25, 2013, Daytona Beach, Florida. Son of Arthur W. and Bette S. Johnson. Attended Mount Hermon School (Gill, Massachusetts), and Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) Class of 1969. Lover of history, geopolitics, cultural exchange, travel, creative writing, Pittsburgh’s Pirates and Steelers, motown songs and other soulful music. Long career in food products development and distribution with Procter and Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio, and H.J. Heinz in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Brussels, Belgium. Resided many years in Sewickley, Pennsylvania before moving to Florida. Founded Certified Pure Ingredients to produce organic fruits and vegetables in Chile for global exports. Joined Sunopta Foods in early 2000s, and established Organic Harvest LLC, an organic foods trading and business development company, in 2011. He is survived by his wife Paula M. Johnson of Daytona Beach, his daughter Avery R. Forman, husband Monty, and children, Amory and Nina, of Brookline, Massachusetts; his son Nathaniel Y. Johnson, his wife Clare, and son Max, of Riverside, Connecticut; his brother Paul Parker-Johnson, his wife Debbie, of Brookline, and their daughters Rebecca A. Brocks, of Portland, Maine, and Megan E. Parker-Johnson, of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts; his step-mother Anne Hale Johnson of Bethesda, Maryland; his half-sister Joy S. Johnson of Denver; his half-brother Randall H. Johnson of Comus, Maryland.

Woody Collins wrote: Eric was one of our roommates (Bill Scranton, Walt Cummings, Dick Ebersol). Extremely talented with a quick wit and a smile. We spent many a night carousing and generally having a good time, sometimes too good. Eric went to work at P&G where he polished his brand management skills. He was recruited by Heinz to run their juice business. He went on to start his own business in Latin America, importing fruit juices. Eric struggled with cancer for 16 months, although talking to him you would never know. Very brave and a loving husband and father. I will miss him.