Helen M. (Murphy) Johnson

Helen M. Johnson, a longtime resident of Naples, FL, passed away Saturday the 9th of November at Avow Hospice after a brief illness.

Affectionately known as “Murph,” Helen was born in Toledo, OH in 1935 and lived in Ottawa Hills, OH, Hilton Head, SC, and Naples, FL with her husband Richard S. Johnson, who passed away in 2008.

As a young woman, Helen attended DeVilbiss High School, where she was a radio announcer. She worked as a lifeguard and swim instructor at Sunnyside Pool in Toledo. She later taught kindergarten and elementary school after earning a bachelor’s degree in Education from The University of Toledo.

A lifelong athlete, Helen was a member of Toledo Ski Club, Toledo Tennis Club, Sylvania Country Club, Laurel Hill Swim and Tennis Club, and Toledo Women’s Club. She volunteered at Toledo Museum of Art and Toledo Orchestra, American Field Service (AFS), Epworth Methodist Church, and Toledo Hospital. In Naples, she was librarian at The Wilderness Country Club and volunteered at NCH Hospital and a resale shop affiliated with Naples United Church of Christ.

Sporty, stylish, and sophisticated, she was also witty and silly. She enjoyed Cedar Point French fries and Rudy’s hot dogs, and she loved to tell – and retell – a good joke. Up until her final days, Helen was an avid golfer and tennis player who lived and died on her own terms. Looking back, she said, “I’ve lived a beautiful life.” Traveling with Richard on business, Helen snorkeled in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, and she enjoyed more than one Guinness in Ireland. Together, they loved skiing with friends in Vail. In her later years, she went fly fishing and canoeing in Alaska and sampled aquavit and herring with old friends in Sweden. As many can attest, she appreciated etiquette and sarcasm in equal doses.

Helen and her twin Harold were the youngest of the Murphy children, including Jean, Cuyler, Marian, Hazel, and Margaret.

Helen will be well remembered by her daughters: Margo Johnson, who lives in New Hampshire with her husband Chip Purrington and son Graham, and Heidi Novaes, who lives in Los Angeles, as do her children Anna and Ricky Novaes.  

Memorial gifts may be made to Avow Hospice in Naples, FL.