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Charles F. Johnson, III

June 1, 2023
Charles F. Johnson, III
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Obituary for Charles F. Johnson, III

Charles Frank Johnson, III, of Providence, RI passed away peacefully of natural causes on the morning of June 1, 2023, at the age of 85.


Born in 1938 in Hazleton, PA to Charles and Charlotte Johnson, Charlie grew up in Watertown, CT with sisters Charlotte and Ann, before attending the Choate School for high school. In 1960, he graduated from Princeton University, where he majored in biology, and then completed his MD at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1964.


While a medical student, Charlie met Lyn (Jarmus) Johnson at a mixer and fell in love. On their first date, he asked her to marry him, and although she said no then, she later said yes. For more than 25 years and across Illinois, New York, and finally Rhode Island, they raised three children together, Ted, Rob, and Amy, before divorcing in 1991.


After completing residencies at the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester, as well as a stint in the US Public Health Service with the National Cancer Institute, Charlie launched his own private practice in plastic and reconstructive surgery in Pawtucket, RI. Board-certified in both general surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery, for more than three decades Charlie attended patients at Miriam Hospital and Blackstone Valley Surgicare. He was a member of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Society and for many years served as associate clinical faculty at Brown University’s Medical School. Charlie developed a particular expertise in the delicate work of hand surgery and, always an enthusiastic adopter of technology, in the 1980s wrote a groundbreaking software program on hand surgery for Hewlett-Packard devices.


Charlie was a man of many interests. Ever since his youth, when he restored his first sailboat, Charlie had a passion for the ocean. He loved to explore the New England coast in his boat, the Kraken, and to scuba dive when in warmer waters; at home, for many years he kept a magnificent salt-water aquarium. He also delighted in art, particularly painting. A watercolorist himself, he enjoyed experimenting with new techniques, and spoke of how surgery and painting similarly fed his creativity. Other interests included photography, tennis, commodities trading, trolls and gnomes, and growing cacti and orchids.


He will be remembered for his sense of humor, with sly and terrible puns and cards that burst to life with a sudden flutter of wings; for his many enthusiasms; and for his deep calm and kind heart.


He is survived by family who will miss him dearly: Charles “Ted” Johnson of Chicago, IL; Robert Johnson and wife Valerie Weiss of Los Angeles, CA; and Amanda “Amy” Johnson of Somerville, MA; his two granddaughters, Annabelle Johnson and Tabitha Johnson; his sisters, Charlotte Frisbie of Edwardsville, IL and Ann Kupferberg of Leesburg, FL; nieces, Elizabeth Frisbie and Jennifer Frisbie; a nephew, Andrew Kupferberg, and his wife Linda Kupferberg; and grandnieces, Helena Frisbie, Gwynn Frisbie, and Kaylee Kupferberg. Charlie was predeceased by two brothers-in-law, Stephen Kupferberg and Theodore Frisbie, and a niece, Melissa Kupferberg.


Family and friends are invited to celebrate his life on Thursday, August 31, from 4–6pm at the Rhode Island Watercolor Society, 831 Armistice Blvd., Pawtucket, RI. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Ocean Conservancy (www.oceanconservancy.org).


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