Mary Johnson

1933 - 2017

Mary Ann Johnson

She leaves behind a loving husband of 45 years, Rick Johnson; a loving son David Bryan Johnson who lives in Boise, ID with his wife April and daughters Genesee, Ryley and Jaclyn. Mary Ann was born in Los Angeles, CA on May 10, 1933. Her family lived in Wilmington, CA in the "Colony" which was housing for Texaco executives, her father was the West Coast Manager for Texaco – the refinery at Pacific Coast Highway and Alameda. While living at the "Colony" she had a horse named, "Queenie". She would ride Queenie on many of the horse trails in Palos Verdes. In early 1941, her father William Ryan and mother, Irene Ryan bought a beautiful home on the beach in Long Beach (First Place and Ocean Boulevard). The home was two doors from the iconic Pacific Coast Club. The Pacific Coast Club had a beach volleyball court as did the beach house that Mary Ann grew up in – this allowed her to pursue a lifelong passion for volleyball. The Ryan house was renowned for the competitive volleyball matches, with Mary Ann taking the prize in women's competition and beating the men's competition. Mary Ann attended Saint Matthew's in Long Beach for her elementary education and then went on to Saint Anthony's High School, she graduated Class of 1951. After high school, she was accepted to The University of Southern California (USC) where she received her Bachelor's degree in 1956. While at USC, she became active in the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. During her time at USC and Gamma Phi Beta she made dear lifelong friendships of great value to her through the end. After graduating from USC, Mary Ann pursued and received a Master's Degree in Education from California State University, Long Beach (aka Long Beach State). After college was complete, Mary Ann went to work for the Long Beach Unified School District. She was an elementary school teach for 35 years. She specialized in reading at Lincoln Elementary, she changed many of her student's lives by opening the world of reading to them. Mary Ann completed her teaching career as a computer science teacher circa 1992. Mary Ann was very active in the Teachers Association of Long Beach (TALB) and volunteered as a Chapter Advisor for the Gamma Phi Beta Chapter at Long Beach State. Teaching enabled Mary Ann to travel the world – traveling and experiencing different places, people and cultures were very important to her. Her trips with family and friends were highlights of her life and she spoke of these stories extensively. To name a few of her trips; walking The Great Wall of China, trips to Africa, The Galapagos Islands, Machu Piche and Ireland where she kissed The Blarney Stone. Mary Ann will be missed, but we know that she is with God, her parents and brother and sister. Mary Ann will always be remembered as a wife, mother, grandmother, friend, teacher, mentor, world traveler, volleyball player, sister, aunt and Trojan.

Memorial service will be held at All Souls Mortuary Chapel, 4400 Cherry Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90807 on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at 11am. A Celebration of Life will be held after the memorial service at the Long Beach Yacht Club, 6201 East Appian Way, Long Beach, CA 90803 from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. In honor of Mary Ann and her energy, we would like people attending to dress casual.

(562) 424-8601