Amy Diane Hunt Johnson

Amy Diane Hunt Johnson September 27, 1961 - June 22, 2019 Surrounded by loving family and friends, educator and community advocate Amy Diane Hunt Johnson died peacefully at her Washington, D.C. home on June 22, 2019. Amy was born to Gaylord and Virginia Latshaw Hunt in Fort Wayne, Indiana on September 27, 1961. Her passion for education emerged at an early age: as a teen, she drove Fort Wayne’s library truck. Amy’s love of learning led her to pursue a sociology major and environmental science minor at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. The university later honored her as a Distinguished Young Alumni for Personal Achievement. During her senior year, Amy spent a semester with the American Studies Program in Washington, D.C., and the city became her home. From 1987 to 2002, Amy served as director of the Neighborhood Learning Center, an after-school tutoring program for urban youth sponsored by her Capitol Hill church, Washington Community Fellowship. In 2002, Amy became a classroom teacher. She first taught at Cornerstone Community School, and then for the last 12 years, she worked as an elementary school science teacher at Key Elementary School in Northwest Washington. Amy organized science fairs and educational camping trips and inspired numerous students to love science and pursue careers in STEM fields. She often regaled family and friends with new insights about clouds, horseshoe crabs, shad, and fish ladders. Amy’s greatest joy was her husband Kim Johnson and their three daughters, Erica, Olivia and Angela. Fueled by her dream of someday becoming a park ranger, Amy enjoyed hiking, camping, bicycling, going to the beach and visiting wildlife habitats with her family. She had a network of close friends and loved spending time with them on road trips, at tea parties and backyard barbeques and on summer visits to Maine. Amy was active in her church and held a Christian faith that emphasized community, joy, justice, compassion, mercy and love--the values which infused her life. While she loved to discuss the nation’s most divisive issues, she always embraced people with differing world views. She believed that on matters where answers are gray and unclear, people should choose love over apathy or hostility and mercy over judgment. Amy received her stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis in December 2014. She faced her treatments with joy, courage, truth, grace and a big dose of humor that was often accented by her broad and beautiful smile. Amy is survived by her husband Kim; daughters Erica, Olivia and Angela; mother Virginia Hunt; sister Susan Hunt; brothers John (Jill) Hunt and Ted (Jana) Hunt; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and in-laws. She is also survived by a vast family of friends who loved her dearly. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 29 at 11:00am at Washington Community Fellowship, 907 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, D.C., 20002. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Washington Community Fellowship (https://wcfchurch.org/give) for outreach to families, youth and the homeless; The Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers (https://ruesch.georgetown.edu/gift/); and the PTO’s garden program at Key Elementary School (5001 Dana Pl NW, Washington, DC 20016).

Tributes

Amy Diane Hunt Johnson

September 27, 1961 - June 22, 2019