Richard Cameron Johnson

We are saddened to share that Richard Johnson of Wakefield, MA (but really Paris, France) passed away on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at the age of 87. He died peacefully after a long battle with Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS) which eventually weakened his system too much for his laudable New England grit to overcome. He is predeceased by his wife of 54 years, Danielle Johnson, and survived by his sister Ellie Hugo, brother-in-law Dick Hugo, and their 2 sons and families, as well as by his loving daughter Cameron Larson, favorite son-in-law Art Larson Jr, and treasured grandson Carter.
He was born May 11, 1937 and had a wonderful childhood in Wakefield. He was very close to his double cousins Ron, Bud, Martha and Brenda (the mothers were Smith sisters and the fathers were Johnson brothers). He lost his mother Clarissa (Cris) at a young age, but not before she set aside funds to help him attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute which he graduated from with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1959. During his time there he made lifelong friends and became a proud member of the fraternity PKA. After graduation he found work with Stauffer Chemical, but days in smelly chemical factories lost their appeal so he decided to seek an MBA. He graduated from Section C at Harvard Business School on the morning of June 5, 1965, and married Danny later that day in the Wakefield Congregational Church in front of his father, Herb, his stepmother Edie and close family and friends. Dick and Dany spent 2 years in Philadelphia before beginning their grand European adventure, determined to make it to Paris one day. After 15 years across Rohm and Haas (US), Drew Chemical (Holland) and Merck/Chemviron (Belgium), Dad set up his own company, Intace, in 1980 when they finally settled in Paris. His wife was the chief instigator of the move but he was happy to enjoy good wines, good cheeses and his famous unfiltered Gauloises while having the autonomy of formulating his own chemicals and successfully growing his business.
Dick embraced being a business owner in France. The month of August was always spent reconnecting with family and friends in the US while businesses were shut down in Europe.
He travelled the world and took his family with him on some memorable trips to Greece (his favorite holiday destination), Mexico, Brazil, South East Asia, China and New Zealand. He relished reconnecting with the Swedish side of his family tree and started attending the tri-annual family reunions held in Sweden in 1991 until his last one in 2018. He hosted enchanting wine tastings at their apartment in Paris and was the beloved "genital" jokester at many an ex-pat soirée.
He was a New England Cross Country champion in his youth, and was an avid skier, tennis player and runner as an adult. While to many it may have seemed unfortunate that he developed PLS in his mid-40s, he never let it stop him or define him. He slowly progressed from dragging his left leg to using one cane, then 2 canes and was eventually semi-confined to a wheelchair in the last 10 years of his life. This didn't stop him from travelling the world for business, and for pleasure every March to Florida with friends from RPI to enjoy his beloved Red Sox in their Spring Training games. He graciously agreed to move to Towson MD to be near Camy, Art and Carter in April 2021 so they could take care of him. He quickly made new friends in his assisted living, where Happy Hour was a daily event and where he bonded with many of his caregivers. However his gradual decline meant he was unable to recover from a brief illness contracted 10 days before his passing.
He is fondly remembered as a stubborn "son of a" with a devilish sense of humor, a crooked smile and boundless kindness and generosity. It would be remiss of us not to mention that he is also survived by 2 bottles of his famous Ben Nevis whiskey that he bought into back in the late 90s and had bottled at 10 and 17 years of age. Skol!
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to an organization supporting ALS research or mentorship for young entrepreneurs. A memorial service will be held in Wakefield, MA in the spring, when his remains will be interred in the family plot.