A celebration of Denise "Dee" Simms Johnson's life, will be held on Saturday, Jan 6 at 10 a.m. at the University of New Mexico's Student Union Building ballroom. Johnson was the first lady of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003.
Johnson, who was born in Albuquerque in 1954, died peacefully in her sleep on Dec. 21 at her home in Taos.
Family members describe Saturday’s event as a “celebration of her life” and ask that instead of flowers, contributions be made to the Dee Johnson Memorial Fund at the Albuquerque Community Foundation, P.O. Box 36960, Albuquerque NM 87176-6960.
Johnson attended UNM where she majored in special education and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. After working as a ski instructor, she went on to help found Big J Enterprises with her then-husband, and later governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson.
As first lady, she worked for early childhood literacy, child safety and anti-smoking legislation, and was a strong advocate of the arts, helping to establish many important collections at New Mexico museums.
Recently she was working with the UNM Alumni Association to help transform historic Hodgin Hall into UNM’s Alumni Center.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales (505) 277-5920 cgonzal@unm.edu
Posted by kwentworth at January 4, 2007 03:26 PM