Norma Johnson

Norma E. Johnson, a resident of the Town of Poughkeepsie for over 60 years, died peacefully at her home on Monday April 22. Norma was born and raised in Washington, DC, in a household that placed a strong premium on hard work and education, values she went on to instill in her children and grandchildren.

Norma was a model student at Dunbar High School in Washington and Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. While at Sarah Lawrence, Norma met her future husband of 64 years, Jeh V. Johnson, an undergraduate student at Columbia College. Jeh and Norma and their two young children moved to Dutchess County in 1963 so that Jeh could pursue his career in architecture in Poughkeepsie and become a lecturer at Vassar College.

While raising her two children in the 1960s, Norma also worked part time at the placement office at Vassar. Beginning in the 1970s, Norma devoted herself to the issues of planned parenthood and freedom of choice. In 1976, she went to work for Planned Parenthood of Dutchess and Ulster Counties and ultimately became associate director there. Norma retired from Planned Parenthood in 1997 after 21 years’ service there and dedicated her later years to doting over her grandchildren.

Norma Johnson is survived by her son, Jeh C. Johnson, the former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama, her daughter-in-law Susan DiMarco, her two grandchildren, Jeh C. Johnson Jr. and Natalie Johnson, and Norma’s older brother Milton Edelin of Piedmont, California. Norma’s husband Jeh Vincent Johnson died in 2021, and her daughter Marguerite Johnson died in 2020.

Funeral services will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, 20 Carroll Street in Poughkeepsie, on Saturday, May 10 at noon. Norma was for years an active member of Christ Church.