Obituary of Dorothy A. Johnson

Dorothy "Dot" Alice (Chambers) Johnson died Friday, August 26, 2011, while a resident of the Elder Care Crestwood Facility on Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY. She was born on September 28, 1915 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada to the late Charles F. Chambers of London, England and the late Ellen A. Kensett Chambers of Windsor, England. Her mother died when she was a little girl and because of the times she was only allowed to receive an eighth grade education. As she spoke excellent grammar, no one ever knew she was self-educated. Besides working as a janitor at Dominion Bank of Canada and as a maid/nanny for a private family, she worked on the assembly lines at Cellu-cotton and Dominion Chain. Her father coached a girls' basketball team on which one of her sisters played. The team traveled around the areas (Canadian-side and American-side) by bus. Some of the fans also rode the bus -and that's where she met her future husband. On February 11, 1938, she married Victor "Vic" B. Johnson, an American, in the manse of the Sanborn Baptist Church. Due to the Depression, they lived in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, until Spring of 1943, when they and their two children moved to Jamestown, NY for her husband's work as a mechanic for Otis Elevator Co. While in Jamestown, Mrs. Johnson became active in the Brownie Scouts, PTA and the Red Feather (which became the Community Chest and later the United Way). She received her American Citizenship at the New York Supreme Court on December 4, 1944. All citizens of the USA should be as proud of being an American as she was. Labor Day weekend of 1949, the family moved to the south shore of Lake Ontario near Youngstown, NY. She became a Brownie Scout leader, Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout leader and taught crafts to shut-ins at Mount St. Mary' Hospital (this was before Medicare). Mrs. Johnson was the first woman to receive the Scouter Key Award from the Oniagara District of the Boy Scouts. She was known for her cooking and baking abilities. Until her husband died, she baked brownies every Christmas for him to give to his elevator customers. Mrs. Johnson lived at the Lake Ontario location until she fell, broke her back and ruptured a disc on August 27, 2005. From September 2005 until her passing, she had resided at Crestwood. Besides her husband and parents, she had been preceded in death by three siblings and two half-siblings. She is survived by one step-brother, one half-brother and one-half sister. Also surviving are her children, Ellen (A. Robert) Colangelo, Bud (Judith) Johnson; grandchildren, William (Beth) Ruminas III, Victoria (John) Sloboda, Aerika (Robert) Backlund, Keira (Edward) Hayes; great-grandchildren, Andrew Ruminas, Christopher Sloboda, Brielle Backlund, Hayden Backlund and Eden Johnson. At her instructions, there will be no funeral or memorial service. Arrangements have been completed by HARDISON FUNERAL HOME, 3648 Ransomville Road, Ransomville, NY 14131.