Kevin B. Johnston

Born in Elmhurst, Queens to Patricia (Jones) and James Johnston, Kevin was
raised in Levittown, N.Y. as the eldest of six children. His upbringing in a town
emblematic of the rapid cultural and historical change of that era likely developed
and nurtured his love of history, language, and literature (this also made him a
notoriously formidable opponent in Trivial Pursuit). Intending to become a social
studies teacher, Kevin graduated from CUNY York College with a History degree,
but after completing a Master’s Degree in Special Education at C.W. Post his career
followed a different trajectory. He taught students with disabilities at Center
Moriches Middle and High Schools from 1983 until his retirement in 2010.
Kevin remained a lifelong student of history — especially World War II — and
voracious reader of everything in sight. In spite of this, he believed that anyone who
bought books without using the public library was an idiot. He proudly hung an
oversized photo of Mark Twain in the living room and stuck a Woody Allen quote,
torn from a newspaper, into the frame for good measure. A favorite pastime was
watching old footage of JFK’s wittiest press conferences on YouTube, and he was
known to peruse Wikipedia daily, quizzing his children on what he learned. He was
an avid viewer of football and boxing but held no allegiances towards specific teams
or players; he expected that athletes be appropriately matched and was vocal in his
disappointment when this failed to be the case. Kevin was selective in his musical
tastes; he loved early Bob Dylan but would readily admit when Bob released a real
dud.
In July, Kevin celebrated forty years of marriage to his devoted wife, Barbara. He
was deeply admired by his children Victoria (Michael Boecherer), Patricia, and
James and adored by his granddaughters Nora and Caroline Boecherer.
Predeceased by his parents, Kevin is also survived by his younger brothers James,
John (Brigida), Robert, and Timothy (Katherine), sister Patricia Beach (Sandy), and
their families.
We will desperately miss his humor, his habit of watching his iPad at the dinner
table with the volume up, and how difficult he was to shop for.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center.