Shirley Ann (Kowatch) Johnson

Shirley Ann (Kowatch) Johnson, 87, of Jamison, PA; longtime resident of Ridgefield, CT, died peacefully on Thursday, January 30, 2025. She was the loving wife of the late Clifford James Johnson.

Shirley was born in Uniontown, PA on November 11, 1937; a daughter of the late Michael and Helen (Kline) Kowatch where she grew up with her younger brother, Donald. As a lover of music, she played the tenor saxophone in a swing dance band. She left Uniontown after her graduation from high school and took a job with the FBI in Washington DC where she met and fell in love with the only man she would ever marry, Cliff. 

With the birth of Stacia in 1964 and then Kristi 1966, Shirley and Cliff started their family. They moved to Bronxville, NY where, in 1968, Jeff was born and then Greg in 1970. Shirley and Cliff finally settled in Ridgefield, CT where their fifth child, Susan, was born in 1972. It was here that she would raise her family and live for the next fifty-one years. 

Mrs. Johnson was a retired Executive Secretary for Duty Free International. She was a devout parishioner of Saint Mary’s Church where she sang in the choir for over 40 years. She and her family were members of Lakeside Field club where she enjoyed tennis with her husband and cheered at her children’s swim meets every Saturday morning during the summer. She was an avid collector of antiques, played bridge, adored Bissinger’s Candy, and sang with the Fairfield County Choral all over the world.   

Mrs. Johnson is survived by Stacia, Kristi, Jeff, Greg, and Susan, their spouses, and her eight grandchildren: Owen, Jake, Kayla, Ethan, Kyle, Sophia, Kaitlyn, and Ben, who loved and laughed with her as she told stories of her life around the largest Christmas Dinner table you’ve ever seen.

Family and friends will be received on Thursday, February 6, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Kane Funeral Home; 25 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield. A funeral mass will be celebrated on Friday, February 7, 2025, at 10:30 AM in Saint Mary’s Church; 55 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield. Interment will follow in Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Ridgefield.

Contributions in Mrs. Johnson’s memory may be made to The American Heart Association or The American Lung Association.

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