Ann Johnson

Ann Rymar Johnson
August 24, 2023
Prairie Village, Kansas - Mrs. Ann Rymar Johnson, 64, passed into the nearer presence of God at home on August 24, 2023 from a quick onset illness. Ann was a loving spouse, mother, and friend who will be missed greatly.
Ann was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Julian W. Rymar of Kansas City, Missouri. Both of her parents were active in managing the family business, The Grace Company, manufacturers of high-end children's clothing. They were also active in the arts and community activities.
Ann's upbringing was in the Old Kansas City tradition consistent with her descent from the Van Brunt family. For example, she and her sisters dressed up and wore white gloves for Sunday dinners at their grandmother's house at 1228 West 56th Street. In other ways, she was part of a modern family with both parents working. Ann and her sisters were often on their own and spent much of summer days swimming and pursuing other sports at the Kansas City Country Club. The Rymar household had a regular stream of visitors coming and going, many from the arts.
She attended Sunset Hill School, Class of 1976, and like many alumnae clung to that nomenclature even when her two children entered Pembroke Hill. At Sunset, she was a cheerleader and played field hockey, for which she received the sportsmanship award. She was a Jewel Ball debutante in 1977 with many friends, and that capped her young adulthood. She attended Scripps College, then later transferred to the University of Kansas. Her lifelong love of reading, especially mysteries, was a source of learning about diverse topics.
Ann pursued a variety of jobs but eventually went to work in the family's business, The Grace Company. Her wonderful artistic talent led her to become a designer of children's wear. Many of her designs became popular and helped the company flourish in the deluxe segment of children's clothing. Her lines were carried by Bloomingdale's, among others.
On a trip to Santa Fe to visit her parents, Ann met her husband, Brad. The timing was right for them both to form a new family. Ann was thereafter whisked into a whirlwind life full of great times at a pace that she hadn't foreseen. Her brother-in-law Blake gifted baseball caps for a raft ride at a family reunion in Snowmass with the line "Uncle Brad's Wild Ride" and that presaged the tempo of the years to come. But Ann was game and rose to every occasion and enjoyed most, except for riding snowmobiles in Aspen.
Ann and Brad's first home was a labyrinthine adobe house on Camino Rancheros, a dirt road in Santa Fe, where Brad's guard dog Belle was always on duty. Belle often jumped up onto the couch in between the couple as they enjoyed a winter fire or movie on TV. A full family life quickly ensued with the birth of Maren.
Although they loved their cozy home in Santa Fe, the couple was destined to move back to Kansas City, their mutual hometown, to raise their family. A summer trip to the greenery of Kansas City was the catalyst. Before moving, Brad and Ann mutually agreed to a covenant to "stay in contact with the outside world" and to expose their children to different places.
Their toehold in Kansas City was a townhouse in Villa Medici for a year. A wild ride? Ann became pregnant with Ford. Their two large kuvasz dogs, given special dispensation from the no-pets policy, produced a litter of eight adorable puppies. Brad's daughter, Corinne, along with toddler Maren and Ann's two cats made for a full house! Fortunately, just before they were all about to be evicted, they were able to move into their new family home on Brookbank Lane.
Fordie arrived that summer, but there was more than enough room in the initially bare house. In search of suitable furnishings, Ann and Brad took young Fordie on an antique buying trip to England. That put in motion the couple's love of antiques and exploring the history attached to them.
Ann's family was fortunate that Brad had carved out an early version of remote work for his investment career. Both parents were able to be very involved in their children's lives and the community.
Ann's role in Maren's life took on special meaning because of Maren's resemblance to Ann as a young child and their shared September birthdays, making them both Virgo birth signs and demanding of organization and order. (We don't believe in astrology, but explain Virgos, please.) Maren took after Ann and was a cheerleader and field hockey player at Pembroke Hill. She was a good swimmer and a beautiful diver on the Kansas City Country Club team, where Ann became the dive chairman for a couple of years.
Ford's interests were definitely athletics-oriented, although he was also a good student and debate champion in high school. He progressed from baseball to lacrosse, which became an all-consuming passion. Ann and Brad attended his games, at Pembroke Hill and later at Rollins College, often with Maren who had led the way to Rollins.
The couple's pledge to travel saw them spend a month in France every summer. Excursions to Santa Fe, Scottsdale, Aspen, New York, Boca Grande, and other places were on the docket for school breaks. Traveling with children was usually exhilarating but often presented challenging wrinkles. One surprise on their first trip to France occurred when the first afternoon in a town where Brad had promised conservative beaches, Cap Ferrat, a family walk quickly happened on a couple blithely swimming and sunbathing in the buff. Once, Ann's passport expired while they were in Canada and she had to stay until an updated version could be obtained by Brad's going back to the U.S. Ann remained brave when, hiking Box Canyon in New Mexico, a series of problems arose, including her wearing the wrong shoes for climbing wet boulders. The recompense was a giant eagle flying overhead and the magical terminus of the canyon. A final example of Ann's patience on family explorations was taking sleeper trains to and from Santa Fe and Arizona. On an overnight trip from south of the Grand Canyon, the family boarded Amtrak at 4:30 am and Maren and Fordie were jumping on Ann's bunk bed for a while. The Rymar family's "Schoolhouse" in Old Snowmass near St. Benedict's Monastery was the site of many great memories, both summer and winter.
Although Ann's community involvement was broad, she had two special interests. First, her devotion to Pembroke Hill was based on personal memories combined with the lifer experiences of Maren and Ford. She was almost everything over the years: room mother, archives worker, rummage sale committee head, chairman of the alumni council, and trustee. She and Brad headed various fundraising campaigns, with innovative approaches such as giving out coffee cups to parents in the morning dropoff line. She was, perhaps, most proud of having organized an alumnae group to participate in the May Day dances. She hosted her twenty-fifth class reunion at her Brookbank Lane home, which was also the site for an annual alumni association holiday party. She received the Alumni Service Award in 2016.
Ann's second community activity was helping with the Jewel Ball. Having been a debutante in 1977, it was another natural involvement. Over the years, she was chairman of several committees, some of which were hard work and others where the organizational aspect was key. For example, while head of the invitations committee, she undertook a crash course in computer data bases to help oversee the project.
Ann and Brad viewed their parties celebrating life with friends around Christmas time as a sort of mission. Those occasions were large and festive and included Christmas carols. Their last such party in their Brookbank Lane home featured Mr. Fezziwig on the invitation. Poignantly, Ann and Brad's most recent party was a Bastille Day party for Maren and Ford at the Kansas City Country Club and it took place just before Ann's condition worsened.
Throughout her life, Ann had pets in her house. She had a soft spot for cats but also liked dogs. At her passing, her big personality Siberian kitten, Gracie, and goldendoodle, Bonnie, were comforting friends for her in her condominium home in Prairie Village.
Ann was predeceased by her parents. Mackall, who was Maren's twin and who died in Ann's arms after seventeen hours of life, will be buried alongside Ann at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church. Maren has always been valued as a special gift from God by Brad, Ford, and Corinne and she's thriving. Ann and Brad's family regularly attended St. Paul's when their children were young, as she had done with her own parents.
Ann leaves her husband Brad, daughter Maren, and son Ford. Her two sisters, who are twins, Gibson (Blake) and Gracen (Gary) were a big part of Ann's life growing up. Good times were had with Brad's daughter Corinne, her husband Chris, and their son Finn in recent years. Ann enjoyed being with her many nieces, nephews, and in-laws during holiday dinners and other events and they were always very supportive.
Ann was grateful for the patient help of Robert and his team during her final days. She was deeply connected to her personal trainer, Ashley, who helped her so much in recent years.
Funeral services will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church at 4pm, Wednesday, September 6th with a reception following at 5:15pm at the Kansas City Country Club. Friends not inclined to attend funerals are still cordially invited to the reception. No flowers, please. Thoughts and prayers by Ann's friends for her children would be appreciated by her more than anything. Donations to the charity of one's choice would, of course, be welcomed.