Kim Alan Johnson's Obituary
Kim Alan Johnson was born on May 4, 1958 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was the son of the late Jean Colesta Patterson Johnson and Jesse Peak, Sr. On Saturday, August 24, 2019, Kim passed away after a 16-month battle with head and neck cancer. He was surrounded by his wife of 33 years, Vidalina Suarez Johnson, his two daughters, Natalia and Arianna and members of the immediate family.
Kim, his mom, and younger brother, Thomas Johnson, moved to Dorchester, Massachusetts and ultimately, in 1970, settled in Randolph, Massachusetts on the South Shore of Boston. He was raised by a single mom. God anointed Kim to be a provider, a responsibility that he took on early in his youth as he took on the role of caring and helping to raise his younger brother. He had a strong passion for sports and enjoyed playing baseball, football, hockey and basketball throughout high school. He graduated from Randolph High School in 1977 and then attended Massasoit Community College in Brockton, MA. He served in the United States Army Reserves from 1980 to 1986 and was Honorably Discharged as a Tactical Wire Operations Specialist with the A Company 126th Signal Battalion Infantry and earned the award Excellent Rifleman.
Kim’s first job was in quality control for Stride Rite Shoes. This is where he developed his well-known attributes for perfection, attention to detail and customer service. For 22 years, from 1984 to 2006, Kim worked in the food industry for Star Market and Frito Lay in Massachusetts. Kim became a proud member of the Teamsters Union. In 2004, Frito Lay offered him a new role in Northern Virginia. He changed careers in 2006 and, for the last 13 years, he worked for the local government as a Supervisor and Project Manager for the Water and Sewer Departments and earned his Commercial Driver’s License with a class B Tank Endorsement. Kim enjoyed learning, but more importantly, he loved the interaction with homeowners, business owners, customers and his teams. He could strike up a conversation with anyone and was often teased that “you can talk to a rock and it will talk back to you.”
Although there was a question on whether he would ever settle down, since he had a reputation for being a “ladies’ man,” in 1984 he met his wife, Vida. In 1986 they married, shortly thereafter bought a home and in 1990 Kim became a dad for the first time (Natalia) and again in 1994 (Arianna). Kim was a practicing Christian all his life and converted to Catholicism in 2007. His strong commitment to Christ enabled him to grow in his faith walk and his life. He was devoted to his family and always made family time a priority. He was a gentleman and believed in chivalry, good manners and kindness. Kim was hard working and tireless --always going above and beyond what was required. He set high standards for himself in everything he did. He enjoyed coaching little league softball and basketball for his daughters from the earliest years and throughout their high school years. Kim instilled in his daughters and the other young ladies that he coached, a strong sense of confidence and “can do” attitude. He was not pleased if the girls were not giving their all. Some of the things he enjoyed most were sports, fishing, fitness, landscaping, and giving a helping hand to others. He was also an avid New England Patriots and New York Yankees fan.
Kim had an infectious laugh and a very gregarious and outgoing personality. He had a customer service orientation, demanded excellence and no shortcuts. He loved telling jokes, making others laugh, listening to live music, dancing and vacationing at the beach. He was also very romantic. Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts was his favorite beach to visit with the family. He was very devoted to his wife, daughters and grandsons; family always came first.
In the Spring of 2018, Kim was diagnosed with cancer and that was the focus of his last year and a half of his life. We gained another family at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute, as we learned about and battled his disease. His mantra was “one day at a time” because he was always very positive, faithful and believed in God’s plan for him. Reflecting on his life and our life together, the “one day at a time” attitude is what kept him grounded in his faith and how he lived each and every day. No matter what the circumstance, he was always the same fun loving guy. While he had times that made him question “why me?”, he always came back to staying the course that God planned for him. Even though we knew the cancer was not curable because it had metastasized, we were still not prepared to see him gone so soon. At the hour of his death, he was surrounded by his loving family.
In the short time since his passing, many have remarked that Kim always gave and showed love. He always took the time to ask how people were, but the difference was that he wanted the real answer. He had very deep, special and unique relationships with all family members and friends because of who he was. He was not perfect and had his short comings, but that is what made him who he was. Although gone much too soon, he leaves the legacy of his unwavering commitment and love to the Lord to his family and living life to its fullest - one day at a time.
Kim leaves to cherish his memory his wife, Vidalina Suarez Johnson; his daughters Natalia and Arianna Johnson; his grandsons Kaiden Wilson Johnson and Kaiell Stone Johnson; his brother Thomas (Joann) Johnson; his Uncle Ronald (Shirley) Patterson and countless sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family and friends.
We know he is in a better place and we will lean on God for his mercy and grace to continue his legacy of love, family and living one day at a time.
If you would like to make a donation in lieu of flowers, please donate to the
Inova Schar Cancer Institute at http://inova.org and select GIVE (In Memory of Kim Alan Johnson)15778 Berkhamstead Place, Leesburg, VA. 20176
Please ensure that you select the Schar cancer institute as the primary recipient of any donation.
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