Charles R. Johnson, 75

DOVER - Charles R. Johnson of Dover died peacefully Sunday, May 6, 2007, surrounded by his family after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 75.

Mr. Johnson was born on March 11, 1932, in Cumberland, Md., son of Dr. Walter Johnson and Louise Hughlett Johnson.

He was raised on the Eastern Shore in Denton and Cambridge. Charles attended Caroline County High School and graduated from McDonogh School in Baltimore. After graduating from Columbia University in New York City on an ROTC scholarship, he served in the U.S. Navy as a gunnery officer aboard the USS Des Moines. He met Holly Bradford while at the Columbia-Barnard Drama Club and they married in 1954.

Following his military service he was a doctoral candidate in the writers program at Johns Hopkins University and later taught elementary school in Baltimore City public schools. In 1966 he began his career with the state of Maryland Department of Employment Security.

In 1983 Mr. Johnson and his wife moved to Dover, where he became active in the community including volunteer work with Main Street Dover; St. Jones Watershed; Dover Art League and more than a decade of service as a docent at the Biggs Museum of American Art. He also enjoyed sailing, woodworking, gardening and the company of his dogs.

He is survived by his wife, Holly; three children, Stephen Hughlett Johnson of Baltimore, Elizabeth Pryor Johnson of New Haven, Conn., Kate Bradford Rohrer and her husband, Bill of Marydel, Md.; a granddaughter and a great-grandson.

Funeral services will be private.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Biggs Museum of American Art, P.O. Box 711, Dover, DE 19903.