Judy Johnson

SARASOTA - Judy Johnson died at her home in Sarasota on February 25 by a sunny window under a tropical breeze, with her husband and two daughters by her side. She was 72.

She was raised in Davenport, IA, and graduated from Macalester College in St Paul, MN.

For 30 years, Judy edited books, magazines, and newspapers, including the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Judy was a delight to all. She saw the world through a different lens. Her innocence and insight could refresh and disarm all at once. Her sense of humor came from somewhere known only to her.

She traveled to dozens of countries, sometimes for months, mostly places where traffic laws were just suggestions, and the water was best left undrunk.

Her Facebook posts captivated her followers because, though she’d been to 14,000-foot peaks and the bottom of the Grand Canyon, she knew what really mattered, like the Kissing Fish in China that nibble dead skin from your feet, or the goats that lick up your salty pee in the Chicago Basin.

Judy volunteered at hospitals and schools, petted dogs and cats at animal shelters and took overnight shifts at Mote Marine’s dolphin rescue program. She helped build the tree canopy walk in Myakka State Park.

Judy suffered for a year from Mantle Cell lymphoma, a rare cancer with no cure.

She is survived by her husband, Stuart Smith of Sarasota; daughters Lindsay Smith, St Petersburg, and Julia O’Keefe with husband Eric and grandsons Alden and Sylvan in Bozeman, MT; sisters Deb Arthur, Omaha, NE, and Diana Glandon, Davenport, IA; and brother Rick Johnson of Heber Valley, UT.

To honor Judy, go somewhere new, hug your family, take long walks, snuggle your pets, protect the natural world, and smile like you mean it.