Stuart Lynn Johnson

Stuart L. Johnson (1949-2024)

Stuart Lynn Johnson, 74, of Tampa, FL, peacefully passed away on March 28, 2024 - the opening day of baseball season - after living with esophageal adenocarcinoma for over five years. He was surrounded by family, including his wife, Sarah (Henderson) Johnson; his daughter, Lauren Connell Johnson; his son-in-law, Matt Scott Carney; his green cheek conure, Dragon; and the music of Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Sade. He passed beneath a portrait of the great Saint Mick Jagger.

Stuart was born in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 1949, to Ruth E. (Henriques) Johnson and Samuel L. Johnson, Jr. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and moved to San Francisco, California, in the early '70s. He spent his early adulthood as a taxi driver and drummer of multiple San Francisco-based rock bands. He married Sarah on August 20, 1984, at San Francisco City Hall and moved to Tampa, Florida, with Sarah and his daughter Lauren in 1990. Stuart went on to work as a business analyst for JPMorgan Chase for over 25 years.

Though Stuart was known as a man of few words, he possessed a wicked sense of humor. He faced his cancer diagnosis with courage, even after he was diagnosed with leptomeningeal disease-a fatal complication of primary cancer-in February 2024.

Stuart was preceded in death by his mother, father, and sun conure, Quetzal. He is survived by his wife, Sarah, and his daughter, Lauren, and her husband, Matt. He is also survived by his sister, Mariruth Bodenheim, and her husband, Mark; his brother-in-law, Gary Henderson, and his wife, Jeri; and numerous nieces, nephews, and beloved friends across Tampa, San Francisco, and the US.

Stuart's family plans to scatter his ashes beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in March 2025. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Moffit Cancer Center Foundation, Neuro-Oncology Fund, to support research on Leptomeningeal Disease. Donations can be made by mailing a check to Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, 12902 Magnolia Drive, MBC-FOUND, Tampa, FL 33612, or online at https://fundraise.moffitt.org/StuRat.