Kenneth G. Johnson MD

Kenneth Gerald Johnson, M.D., 97, a cardiologist, U.S. Navy veteran, and innovative champion of bringing the benefits of modern medicine to the edges of American society, passed away at his residence in High Falls, NY on January 28th, 2023. Dr. Johnson’s distinguished career bridged the worlds of academic medicine and public health. He was a clinical professor of cardiology at Yale; director of medicine and epidemiology at the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in Japan, a U.S. government-funded agency overseeing the medical needs of survivors of the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their families; associate professor of medicine at Cornell-New York Medical College, where he was director of epidemiological research; and a full professor of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School where he established the Department of Community Medicine, serving as its first chair.

Devoutly Catholic with a strong ecumenical spirit, Dr. Johnson’s practice of medicine was guided throughout his professional life by his deep moral principles. He participated in the development of the Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers Program that soon became the Faith in Action movement, a national organization of social and medical communities of all faiths that spread to all fifty States and U.S. Territories. As a senior consultant to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (no family connection), he designed and oversaw two major well-funded national programs, one relating to perinatal care in underprivileged areas, particularly in several western states such as Oklahoma, the other to elder care for underserved seniors. Dr. Johnson also played a formative role in the creation of a cooperative fellowship program for training physicians and physician assistants from the Mid-Hudson Family Health Institute and Dermatology Services of Kingston. In recent decades he has been a friend and supporter of the Woodcrest Bruderhof Community of Rifton, NY, taking a special interest in the development of scholarship programs at The Mount, the Community’s high school in Esopus (formerly Mt. St. Alphonsus Academy).

Born on February 12,

1925 in Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Johnson was the third son of William Johnson and Mary McPartland Johnson. As a youth, he worked at the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Opera while attending Xaverian High School. Upon graduating at age 16 in 1942 he set out to earn a college degree before turning 18 and answering his country’s call. What made this goal attainable was single-minded determination, a keen logistical sense, and sufficient time to study during lengthy subway rides. He enrolled in three institutions: New York University, Fordham, and Manhattan College, the last of which granted him a bachelor’s degree in 1944 shortly before his 18th birthday. He duly presented himself to the Draft Board at Grand Central Station, was selected for the Navy, and served on the U.S.S. Boston which saw action during the Battle of Okinawa. Discharged from the Navy in 1946, the future Dr. Johnson began his medical studies at Long Island College of Medicine, and after receiving his degree he completed his residency requirement, combined with a fellowship in internal medicine and cardiology, at Yale University Medical School.

No adequate account of

Dr. Kenneth Johnson’s life can ignore the presence in his life of Marie-Louise Tully, whom he met at the Newman Center at the Long Island College of Medicine when he was in his third year and she in her first. They were married on June 10, 1950 and moved to New Haven where Marie-Louise earned a Ph.D. in Microbiology before enrolling in Yale Medical School. For nearly seventy-seven years, the

Drs. Johnson were a couple whose friendships were all joint friendships, their sense of mission and commitment was shared equally, their journeys were made together, whether to Japan, Ecuador or Rome to revisit old friends, or to the Bahamas where they assisted at a vaccination clinic run by a missionary to whom they were devoted. Indeed, the Johnsons loved to travel, and the medical care they gave to individuals at home or abroad always had a pastoral character. From their permanent bond they drew unending strength. In Rome, the Drs. Johnson took a special interest in the members of a professional group newly formed in Germany, the Catholic Integrated Community, to which they provided mentorship and financial support. During their three years in Japan decades earlier they had forged a lifelong attachment to the members of the Jesuit community, one of whom,

Fr. Pedro Arrupe was called to Rome to become the Superior General of the Society of Jesus and remained their close friend until his death. Pope John Paul II awarded the couple the Papal Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in 1994 for distinguished service to the Catholic Church. Dr. Marie-Louise Johnson died at their home early last June.

Dr. Johnson is survived by his brothers-in-law, William D. Tully, of Rutherford, NJ, and Robert E. Tully of Salisbury Mills, NY; sisters-inlaw, Eileen Conway Tully of Albany, NY, Jeannine Ryan Tully of High Falls, NY, and Anne Harrick Tully of Salisbury Mills, NY. He was predeceased by his brothers, William, James, and Joseph Johnson; sisters-in-law, Dolores, Rena, and Madeline Johnson; and nieces, Diane Robertson, Cherilyn Nicholson, and Jamie Lynaugh; by his brothers-in-law, James H. Tully Jr. and Martin F. Tully; and sister-in-law, Judith Sheehan Tully.

There will be no calling hours at the George J. Moylan Funeral Home in Rosendale, NY. The Funeral Mass will be held at St. Peter’s Church, Rosendale, NY at 11 AM on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, followed by United States Navy and American Legion Post 1219 Military Honors and Final Blessing at St. Peter’s Cemetery, Rosendale. Memorial donations may be made to

St. Peter’s Church, PO Box 471, Rosendale, NY 12401. www.GJMoylanFuneralHome.com