Mary Glenn (Drye) Johnson, 81, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on September 4, 2022 in Glendale, WI. She was born on September 30, 1940 in Wadesboro, NC to Audrey Burns (Griggs) Drye and William Paul Drye. A graduate of Wadesboro High School, Mary continued her education and graduated from Presbyterian Nursing College in Charlotte, NC in 1962. After becoming a registered nurse, she served from 1964-1969 as an officer in the U.S. Air Force Nursing Corp. During this time, she met
Ralph Karl Johnson, an Air Force officer and pilot. They were married in 1966. Mary left the Air Force at the rank of Captain to focus on their young family. Ralph and Mary raised three children, Erik, Darren, and Diana, during which time Ralph served honorably in the Vietnam War. As a military family, they moved several times over the years, living in Georgia, the Philippines, Texas, North Carolina, and New Jersey. In 1984, after retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel from a 20-year career in the Air Force, Ralph passed away suddenly of heart failure. Mary then returned to nursing to support her family. She worked at Mercer Medical Center in Trenton, NJ where she was a respected and dedicated member of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nursing staff. She considered it an honor and a privilege to care for her “babies,” the high-risk infants in the nursery. She retired in 2011, at the age of 72, and moved to Houston, TX to spend time with her grandchildren. In 2020, she relocated to the Milwaukee, WI area.
Mary was a caring and courageous mother who overcame life’s obstacles with toughness, persistence, compassion, selflessness, and unwavering Christian faith. She truly cared for other people, and she uplifted those around her with her kindness and sense of humor. Her legacy is written in the lives of those she profoundly influenced. She is survived by her son, Erik Johnson; her son, Darren Johnson; her daughter, Diana Johnson; her son-in- law, Randy Adams; her granddaughter, Cole Johnson; and her granddaughter, Samantha Johnson. She also leaves behind nephews, nieces, cousins, and dear friends.
Visitation will be held at the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Ave., Princeton, NJ 08542 on Friday, September 16, 2022 from 6:00-8:00pm. A funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Saturday, September 17, 2022 at 10:00am. She will be laid to rest at the Princeton Cemetery, 29 Greenview Ave., Princeton, NJ 08540 immediately following the funeral service. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the memory of Mary Glenn Johnson.