Obituary of Brian Johnston

Brian Johnston Obit

Brian Johnston (aka BJ) passed away on Wednesday, June 7^th due to complications from liver cancer and lifelong challenges of hemophilia.  Brian is survived by his father George of Duxbury, Massachusetts, his brothers Dana (wife Laura) of Occoquan, Virginia, Scott (wife Katrina) of Cypress, California, and Todd (wife Michelle) of Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts.  He is predeceased by his mother Nancy.  He also leaves 6 nieces, 4 nephews, 6 grand nieces, and 2 grand nephews.  BJ will always be remembered for his courage and ever positive attitude, love of family and friends, and love and knowledge of all sports. 

A native of Hanover, MA, BJ was known for his strong determination as he battled nerve spasms due to his partial paralysis, complications from blood transfusions, and other hemophilia-related bleeding issues over the years.  BJ was a fixture in the Hanover sports scene during the mid 80’s as he was the team manager and statistician for the high school football (for coach John Sullivan), basketball (for coach Ed Amaral), and baseball (for coach Mike Farrell) teams.  Upon graduating from Hanover High, BJ attended Bridgewater State College and eventually graduated from the online department of Colorado Technical University with a BS in business administration with a concentration in Information Technology.   Upon graduating, BJ worked in numerous fields including jobs as a mutual fund research analyst, occasional sports analyst for WATD for his mentor Bill Wilhelm as well as reporting the top 10 rankings for the various sports on Sunday evenings for WATD.  More recently, he was a contributing host to a podcast (Causeway Kings), when healthy, for a Quincy radio station which focused on hockey.  In 2005, he was awarded the Edward F. Perry award for his outstanding contributions to sports on the South Shore.  He noted that his most important job, however, was helping care for his mother during her 11 year battle with Alzheimer’s disease, returning the favor for her lifelong care of BJ. 

Calling hours for Brian will be held on Thursday, June 22^nd from 4pm to 7pm at the Shepherd Funeral Home in Kingston.  A church service will be held at the Duxbury Baptist Church at 2 Tremont Street at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, June 23^rd.  Lunch will be held in the church’s fellowship hall followed by a private burial at the Duxbury Cemetery. 

The family would like to say a special thank you to all the medical professionals and support staff at Children’s Hospital and Brigham & Women’s Hospital who cared for Brian during his countless admissions to those world class institutions. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Brian’s honor to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute of Boston or the New England Hemophilia Association of Dedham.