Shirley “Lee” Doud Johns, of Marion, died peacefully at home on August 15, 2012. She was the wife of the late David W. Johns, the mother of Peter, Susan, and Chip, and the daughter of the late General Alfred H. Doud and Helen Whitney Doud. She would have been 84 on September 23.
Lee was born in Rochester, NY, in 1928 where she was raised with her two sisters, Patricia and Barbara. In 1954, she married David Johns, also from Rochester, and they moved to Northport, NY. In 1960, they moved to Marion where Lee worked as a medical secretary and managed the Marion Racquet Club. She and her husband spent as much time as they could sailing with their children on Buzzards Bay, first on Conquest, a 32” wooden cutter, and later on Revival, a Block Island 40. When they weren’t sailing or in the boatyard they were off to ski Cannon Mt. in Franconia, NH, where they eventually retired in 1991. After her husband’s death in 1996, Lee summered in Marion until 1998 when she moved back to Marion year round.
A sailor, skier, seamstress, gardener, and tireless volunteer, Lee was never idle. Her volunteer activities included the Buzzards Bay Regatta, the Marion to Bermuda Race, the Gleason Family YMCA, the Rotch-Jones-Duff House, Buzzards Bay Musicfest, Tobey Hospital, Elizabeth Taber Library, Sippican School, and the Girl Scouts of America. She was a member of the Beverly Yacht Club and the Garden Club of Marion.
Lee is survived by her three children and eight grandchildren: Peter and Connie Johns of Osterville, MA, and their son Peter; Susan and George Dorshimer of Jenkintown, PA, and their children, Sam, Greg, Emma and Molly; and Chip and Colleen Johns of Mattapoisett, MA, and their children, Christina, Caroline and Luke. She is also survived by her sisters, Patricia Rolfsen of Rochester, NY, and Barbara Cameron of Ft. Meyers, FL, and their families.
A memorial service will be held for Lee at the St. Gabriels Church in Marion on Friday, August 24 at 2 PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lee’s name to the Gleason Family YMCA, 33 Charge Pond Rd. P.O. Box 466, Wareham, MA 02571. Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. For on-line guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.