A Closer Look

In Their Own Words: Remembrances from Former Students of Monsieur Johnson

“He was enthusiastic, thoughtful and caring.”

Chris Johnson — or Monsieur Johnson, to his French students — had many passions, which included hockey, good coffee, Star Wars, soccer, The Three Stooges and Joan of Arc. But ask any of the hundreds of Dana Hall students who passed through his classroom and they’d all say this about their former teacher: He deeply loved France, and he loved sharing that passion with his students. A beloved member of the Dana Hall community for more than 20 years, Johnson passed away unexpectedly on April 22.

Courtney Caruso ’05, chair of the Dana Hall Board of Trustees and one of Johnson’s earliest French students, had the distinction of knowing him both as a teacher and later, a friend and fellow francophile. “I reconnected with Chris when I was studying at Sciences Po in Paris,” Caruso said. “We met while Chris was on sabbatical, along with a couple of his other former French students from Dana Hall, and we shared stories of our French lives. And for me, this marked a new intellectual connection with one another as we swapped stories around our academic interests.”

What stood out most to her during this chance encounter was how Johnson “embraced my ideas, peerto-peer, and reminded me and encouraged me to keep exploring, learning, traveling and challenging my own understanding of things — both past and present,” she said. While she was no longer his student, she was impressed that he still carried the deep care and concern for those in his orbit that she’d experienced years earlier.

Head of School Katherine Bradley echoed Caruso’s sentiment. “Chris embodied this sense of community, being joyfully present for the students in his classes, connecting to our alumnae, and simply being a beloved colleague for Dana Hall faculty and staff, both current and past,” she said. “Throughout his time here, he demonstrated his enthusiasm for just about anything he became interested in, and he could speak about his passions with great animation and at great length. His prodigious memory for music and sports and movies and everything French meant that he could turn workplace conversations from pedestrian chit chat to a game of trivial pursuit.”

Jacqui Bloomberg, World Languages Department Head and Latin teacher, worked alongside Johnson during his 22 years at Dana Hall, the two becoming good friends and colleagues. She described him as a “stabilizing force in the World Languages Department,” with his classroom “between the Dean of Students and Señora Villalobos’s room, playing games with his students, singing songs, telling jokes and enjoying French. He never apologized for his interests, and he shared them with everyone.”

Bloomberg said she learned a lot in the weeks after she lost her dear friend. “Each time we shared stories and celebrated those many areas about which Chris was passionate, I kept thinking how much he would have loved seeing this,” she said. “We should really celebrate each other in this way during our lives. In Horace’s ‘carpe diem’ poem, the last sentence reads, ‘Dum loquimur,fugerit invida aetas: carpe diem,quam minimum credula postero,’ which translates to: While we are speaking, enviable age has already fled: seize the day, trusting as little as possible to tomorrow.”

“I was inspired to attend a summer French immersion program after taking his class.”

“He brightened up when I made a point to say hello on Dana visits as an alum.”

“He was a gem of a human.”

“I speak French conversationally with my friends and children to this day, because of him.”

“His classroom was a safe learning environment that embodied that Dana Hall spirit.”

“He made learning fun.”

“He was a caring and thoughtful advisor.”

“His puns and songs always brought a smile to my face.”

“He without a doubt impacted me more than any teacher has ever.”