Cris Edward Johnson, teacher, attorney, writer, singer of songs, and public policy advocate, died on Oct. 15, 2023 at the age of 75.

Born to Jean and Loraine Johnson, Cris grew up in Carmel, New York with his three sisters, where he learned to make sauerbraten from his uncle for Sunday meals. The family enjoyed summers at his maternal family's home in Ocean Park, Maine, where he often dug clams with his grandfather before breakfast.

Cris graduated from Colgate University with a degree in English and, perhaps more importantly, a lifelong brotherhood of acapella singers, The Colgate Thirteen. Cris’s legal guidance secured the enduring “Thirteen House” as a campus homebase for the group in 2002.

For many years, Cris taught for the Irving High School English Department during the day while studying law at Pace University in the evenings. Although he practiced real estate law in New York State for over 25 years, he preferred to demystify the legal system to any friend or neighbor in need.

Cris raised two daughters, Sasha and Genevieve. As a father, Cris added a little magic to everything. He could make losing an end-of-season field hockey game (played in the pouring rain) into something to celebrate. He treated requests to chaperone jam-band concerts like an honorable diplomatic mission, and graciously picked up the tab when visiting Sasha and her college friends (who have a penchant for top-shelf Scotch). While she was a toddler, Genevieve and Cris co-hosted “Two Cooking Cooks,” an imaginary cooking show they narrated while making Sunday morning pancakes. For Genevieve, this passion would grow beyond personal to professional and then into a commitment to educating others. Whatever the opportunity to show up and support his children, he was there with bells on (sometimes literally), offering unconditional love and support.

In 2009, Cris moved to Maine fulltime to keep time by the tides and train whistles. He and his beloved Nell enjoyed traveling across Maine and the country. Together they explored the coastal communities from East Boothbay to Acadia (in an April rainstorm) and Lubec (where the mosquitos were as big as chickadees) hunting for the best lighthouses and tastiest oysters, beer, and lobster rolls. They road-tripped to Colorado and Florida, marveling at our country’s magnificence and the amazing people they met along the way.

Cris delighted in spending time with his grandsons, Liam and Aidan, flying kites, playing guitar, and selflessly volunteering as the only willing adult to ride the teacups with them. Cris also adored being a bonus grandfather to many young people, regaling them with stories of food fights and cheering them on at sports games.

He was an equally dedicated educator, community organizer, and friend, teaching his University of New England students the true costs of business using the “triple bottom line,” advocating for the importance of local politics, and lending an ear or spinning a tale at his favorite watering hole, The Whaler.

Cris will be celebrated in story and song by his daughters and their families: Sasha Tracy (Jack Tracy) and their sons, Liam and Aidan of Jackson, New Hampshire; Genevieve Johnson (Douglas W. Milliken) of Saco, Maine; his partner in life and adventure, Nell Tharpe of East Boothbay; as well as his sisters and their families, countless Colgate Thirteen Brothers, and a beautiful tapestry of friends, young and old.

Memorial donations can be made to the Music That Moves Me Instrument Donation Program through Maine Public (music@mainepublic.org).