David Johnson

With great sadness, family and friends bid goodbye to David Johnson, 61, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and hiking buddy. Dave passed away on Saturday, January 5, 2019 near his adopted home of Bernalillo, New Mexico doing what he enjoyed most-hiking. He lived most of his life in Connecticut with his family and worked as a biologist in pharmaceutical laboratories hunting for new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, depression, and Parkinson’s to name a few. He also spent the last year of his career managing oncology drug submissions to the FDA.

Retiring to New Mexico in 2014 and again in 2018, Dave was a hiking and backpacking enthusiast, an avid cook of beef bourguignon and creme brûlée, and a budding ham radio operator. He was looking forward to trips to Alaska and Ireland this year. Mostly, Dave was a devoted family man and a “comfort friend” to those who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Dave is survived by his wife, Gail of Bernalillo, NM; a son, Alex of Manchester, CT, and a son and daughter-in-law, Andrew and Ashley of Niantic, CT. He has three delightful grandsons, Brody, Nathan, and Zachary of Niantic, CT who adored their “Epa” (grandfather).

Services will be private. Donations in Dave’s memory may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, PO Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014 (michaeljfox.org), or The Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410 (arborday.org).