Posted on: Friday, June 29th, 2018
Honoring George Johnson Jr.
It is with a sadness hard to describe that I share with you the passing of our dear friend and beloved colleague George Johnson, Jr.
The impact George leaves behind at our Hockomock Area YMCA will never be forgotten. To know George was to know kindness, to know George was to witness goodness, to know George was to see caring and concern, and to know George was to experience the best and purest elements of friendship and camaraderie.
George has been a vital and enthusiastic member of our YMCA family for the past 31 years. George loved our YMCA and our Y sure loved him back.
His presence and contributions endeared him to members and staff alike. George did it all in his Y career including impacting lives in the following departments and program areas: membership, childwatch, fitness centers, sports and aquatics, school age childcare, summer camp, teens, facilities and our Integration Initiative. Any of us who got to see George teach a swim lesson told you all you needed to know about the capacity of his heart and his willingness to share that big heart with others.
But it was in each of our own personal interactions with George that are the hallmark of how much we cared about him and how George was able to express how much he cared about us.
Because isn’t it in this mutual caring we get to experience every day that best describes his legacy?
George Johnson Jr. leaves a lasting and very powerful legacy at our Y and in all the members and staff whose lives he touched.
George comes from a large family that he was proud to be part of. But he always said – and in the last month loved to share with his family and friends – he had two families. He would tell everyone his second family was his Y family.
George made it a point to visit my office nearly every morning since I joined our Y in 1993. The mornings I wasn’t there did not stop him from coming by later or the next day. But it is in the mornings I was there that will forever be the basis of my memories of George. The conversations, the ribbing, the sports talk, the family talk, and the friendly wagers (he always seemed to win the coffee)…like all of you who knew George, that is what I will miss the most.
To those of you that didn’t know George, please know that our Y lost a special, dear friend. He will be deeply missed. But he will never be forgotten. All of us who loved George will ensure that his legacy is passed on to future generations.
We will also be setting up a time here at the Y when anyone who wants to gather will be welcome to come and share thoughts and stories about our friend George.
In 2016, I was honored to present George with the Marge Kraskouskas Legacy of Caring Award at our annual staff recognition luncheon. And at last year’s luncheon George offered the opening thought. He talked about his two families and he ended with a quote that I share with all of you. It is a quote that captures the essence of what George meant to so many of us and to so many Y families through his passion and his compassion:
“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different, because I was important in the life of a child.”
George, you are important in all of the lives of anyone who had the pleasure to know you. And you are forever part of the fabric and spirit of our Hockomock Area YMCA.
Sincerely,
Ed Hurley
President, Hockomock Area YMCA
