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Born: June 20, 1920 - Hennepin, Illinois, USA
Died: May 21, 2018 - Colorado Springs, Colorado |
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The American soprano, Harriet Elizabeth Johnson (Wyatt), was born the only child of Dr. James Tilman Wyatt and Edna Wyatt (Hammel) in Hennepin, Illinois. In childhood the family moved to Roanoke, Illinois where she grew up, attending Roanoke public schools and graduating from Roanoke High School in 1938. In childhood she displayed promise in music, eventually studying piano and voice at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois where she became a member of Delta Omicron Music Sorority. She then attended Brown Business School in Peoria, Illinois in the secretarial program and briefly worked as a secretary for the Girl Scouts headquarters in Peoria.
On July 27, 1941 Harriet Johnson married Albert M. Johnson. In the 1960's she was elected the first woman Elder of the First Presbyterian Church, Owego, New York and also served as an Elder in the First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, New Mexico. She was active in the church for most of her life, not only with administrative duties but also as a choir member, vocal soloist, pianist and organist. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church choir, Owego, New York, the Motet Singers of Binghamton, New York, a soloist with the Binghamton Symphony and Choral Society and as a member of the SUNY Binghamton Chorus and the BC Pops of Binghamton, New York. She and her husband retired to Las Cruces, New Mexico where she was an accompanist in the Music Department at NMSU, Las Cruces, and a member of the choir of the First Presbyterian Church of Las Cruces. She served as Assistant organist at First Presbyterian, Las Cruces. She and Al moved to Colorado Springs in 1999 where she was accompanist for children's choir at First Presbyterian Church, and a choir member of First United Methodist Church (UMC). She performed as a vocal soloist for several family weddings and took great joy in music her entire life.
Harriet Johnson passed away peacefully on May 21, 2018, at the age of 97. Her husband Albert M. Johnson predeceased her in 2005. |
