It’s hard to believe a year has already gone by. And I am getting better, dealing with the loss of Tony mostly by jumping headfirst into everything and hugging harder and longer and remembering to be grateful for every little thing, the every-day-is-a-gift attitude. I still hear from everyone about Tony — friends and family have seemed more conscientious too about keeping in touch; loss seems to affect us all in the same way, bringing us all closer together.
I still miss Tony and always will. He would appreciate how goofy it makes me feel that I sometimes direct comments to him in my head. I’ve been listening to music a lot more this past year, as a way of staying connected to Tony, remembering his passionate opinions about different songs or musicians. I just got an email from his ex-wife. She said Tony would be so proud of how his oldest son has taken a shine to guitar and piano.
The little things we do every day, the ups and downs of all our relationships, it all seems so complicated sometimes. Until you boil it all down to whether someone is still here to love — or not. That brings me a lot of clarity. How can you stay angry at your husband over helping around the house, or too tired to listen to your child, or not have the patience to hear your mom tell a story you’ve heard 10 times — knowing how lost you would feel without them?
It’s a beautiful life. Tony reminds me of that every day.
Folks,
During one of the upgrades to this site a database field was broken which prevented posts from being saved. This bug appears to be fixed now, so feel free to post again. Tony’s birthday just passed again, so I know people are thinking of him. Sorry this took so long to correct.
Published in Uncategorized
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I dreamed last night that I was singing Happy Birthday to Randy, and that he and I both knew that I meant it for Tony. Then I gave him a big hug. Even though I think dreams are usually the aftermath of rich food or stress, it amazes me what they pull from our subconscious.
Today we are listening to music all day in our home. Sophie and Sabina are practicing their piano in your honor, Tony. They also wanted to draw because they remember how much you loved art. They are making cards for their Grandma.
A couple of weeks ago there was a concert marathon on TV to increase awareness of global warming. There was the usual line up of bands, but when Spinal Tap took the stage with Metallica and about half a dozen bass players to play Big Bottom, I wanted to call you so badly and hear you laugh about it!
I miss you and think about you every day –
We’ve started putting Tony’s music online. Click on “Tony’s Music” along the top navigation bar and see what we’ve got. Most browsers should be able to play this just fine. Please let me know if you have any problems playing the songs. Thanks.
John Dove was kind enough to scan the programs and send them to us… Click to view full size.
We added a number of photos from the 60s and 70s this morning. We hope to add more this evening. Audio and video probably won’t be added until the weekend, as it takes much longer to process.
Someone kindly pointed out the existence of an inappropriate banner on the photo gallery page. This has been removed. Banners are chosen based on content, and photo gallery pages don’t have any content for the ad machine to “read” so you never know what kind of ads you’re going to get on the photo page. Just to be safe, I turned them off entirely for the photo page.
If you’d like to send condolences to the family, here’s the address:
Doug and Jessie Johnson
1849 Buttonwood Ct
Harrisonburg, VA 22802
(from today’s Harrisonburg Daily News Record)
Tony D. Johnson, 44
Tony Douglas Johnson, 44, of Harrisonburg, died Sunday, May 20, 2007, at his home.
Mr. Johnson was born July 25, 1962, in Harrisonburg, and was a son of Hugh and Jessie Dean Johnson of Harrisonburg.
He graduated from Eastern Mennonite High School in 1980. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and was a guitarist and songwriter.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by two sons, Joshua and Samuel Johnson; a daughter, Hannah Johnson; a brother, Randy Johnson of Harrisonburg; and a sister, Eve German of Fredericksburg.
Pastors Merle Shank and Tim McAvoy will conduct a graveside service 2 p.m. Wednesday at Beaver Creek Cemetery near Montezuma.
Arrangements are by Kyger Funeral Home in Harrisonburg.
From today’s Harrisonburg Daily News Record:
Tony D. Johnson, 45
Tony Douglas Johnson, 45, of Harrisonburg, died Sunday, May 20, 2007, at his home.
Funeral arrangements were pending Sunday night at the Kyger Funeral Home in Harrisonburg.
As I understand it, the bigger obituary will be printed in tomorrow’s paper, and will likely give the details on the funeral service.
Tony Johnson of Harrisonburg, Virginia passed away yesterday. The cause of death was a massive heart attack. He was found by his parents at about 5:00 PM.
Please leave comments and momentos here. Anyone with photos or recordings of Tony should get in touch with me to have them presented here for posterity.
Bob German (bobgerman@bobgerman.com)
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