Rebecca Ann Johnson

Rebecca passed away peacefully on July 12,2024 surrounded by her family. This was on her 67th birthday. She was born on July 12,1957 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Her parents were Kay and Forrest Gerard who preceded her in death in 2016 and 2013 respectively. Kay was a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and Forrest a member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana. Rebecca moved to the Washington, DC area as a young child and grew up in Bowie, Maryland with her three sisters and one brother. Her father was a leader in Native American affairs throughout his career in the federal government. Rebecca was extremely proud of her Native American roots and she made several summer trips with family near Browning, Montana and Glacier Park where her father grew up.

Rebecca graduated from Bowie High School in 1975 and then attended nursing school at Salisbury State University graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing with critical care training. Her first job was in the coronary care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital where she quickly became a favorite and leader. She met her eventual husband of 40 years, Eric Johnson, who was an intern in the Department of Medicine, on her very first day of work at Hopkins in 1982. Rebecca and Eric married in 1984 in Baltimore and then moved to San Francisco in 1985 for Eric's cardiology fellowship. One of the cardiologists at Hopkins famously remarked upon hearing the news of her leaving that, "we can lose you, Johnson, but losing Rebecca as a nurse is the thing that really hurts."

Rebecca and Eric had a wonderful time in San Francisco with Rebecca having a great career as a CCU nurse at UCSF. They had a son, Charles Brandon, in 1986 in San Francisco. They moved to Oakland in 1988 for Eric's job and stayed in the same house after that for 36 years. Rebecca had unexpected twins, Allyson and Leslie, in 1990. The twin birth was not discovered until Rebecca went into labor so was quite a joyful shock. She worked on the mayoral campaign for Jerry Brown in Oakland in 1998 and was always a fierce supporter of Oakland, a city she truly loved.

Rebecca was a foodie and loved to cook. Cooking and food channels were almost always on in her kitchen. She was an avid reader. Rebecca had four dogs over the years: Mollie, Tulsa, Hannah and most recently, Remi, all of whom she absolutely loved, as they did her. Many of her favorite memories were of our annual summer trip to Dollar Point at Lake Tahoe and later to Incline Village. She was an avid runner and ran several half-marathons, 10K and 5K races, and exercised throughout her life. Her outdoor exercise class at Lake Temescal in recent years was her favorite where she made life-long friends. She was a devoted Oakland Raider and Golden State Warrior fan. She was known for her tailgate parties at the Coliseum and basketball watch parties at her home. She was such a wonderful friend to many and gave so much of herself without taking anything in return.

Rebecca is survived by her husband, Eric, son, Charles, and daughters, Allyson and Leslie. She is also survived by her sisters, Pat, Peg, and Jenny, brother, Stanley and many nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life is in the planning stages with a tentative date in October. Once finalized we will notify everyone.