Obituary of Mary Johnston

Mary Johnston passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on June 12th at Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ at the age of 72. She was a loving wife, helpmate, mother, grandmother, and dedicated friend to a wide circle of people. Mary was born in Joplin, Missouri, the daughter of Howard Bennett and Virginia Turner Bennett. She grew up in Independence, Missouri, where she met and married her high school sweetheart, Mike. Mary had a lifelong love of and talent for music. As a teenager, she won a state-wide piano contest and in college she directed her sorority's choir to a first place win in a national competition. She went on to earn a degree in harp and music education from the University of Kansas in 1961. After moving to New Jersey in 1967, Mary played harp for many years with a variety of free-lance music ensembles, including orchestras, show pits and pop groups. She was also an entrepreneur as the founder of First Strings, a harp and string rental business that provides high-quality instruments to aspiring students. Mary was gifted with wonderful communication and organizational skills, which she generously utilized in her many personal, community and philanthropic endeavors. She was president of the family ranching business, MJ Ranch Corp. She also oversaw the construction of three of the family's houses and turned them into homes in both New Jersey and Colorado. Mary was dedicated to serving community organizations focused on children and nature, and she made a huge impact wherever she served through her passion, knowledge and leadership skills. She was active on the boards of the Raritan Headwaters Association, Life Camp Inc., and the Truman Library Institute at the time of her death. She loved birds and was formerly on the board of the Cornell Ornithology Laboratory. She was also one of the founders of the New Jersey Youth Symphony, where she also served as president of the Board. Mary is survived by her husband Michael Johnston of Pottersville, her daughter and son-in-law Virginia Johnston Crisci and Dan Crisci of Maplewood, her son and daughter-in-law Dan and Brenda Johnston of Rock Hill, South Carolina, her brother David Bennett of Roeland Park, Kansas, and five grandchildren - Ashley, Bennett and Amber Johnston, and Dustin and Nathan Crisci - as well as nephews and nieces. Mary is remembered for her humility, open-mindedness, grace, humor, assertiveness and fun spirit and was a positive influence on many lives. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary's memory may be made to the following three organizations which were very close to her heart and on whose Boards she served: Raritan Headwaters Association, PO Box 273, Gladstone, NJ 07934, www.raritanheadwaters.org; Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark (BGCN) LifeCamp, Inc., PO Box 1975, Morristown, NJ 07962-1975; and The Truman Library Institute, 500 U.S. West Highway 24, Independence, MO 64050-1798, www.trumanlibrary.org.