Janis Leas

Surrounded by her family, our beloved Janis Leas (Mimi) of High Falls, NY peacefully passed away Friday, November 8, 2024 following a fall in her home.

Born August 12, 1938 in Miles City, Montana, Jan was the daughter of Maurine Hutchason and James Mitchelhill.

In her formative years, Jan lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota; Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico; Rancagua, Chile; at Northfield preparatory school in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts and at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. These endowed her with a deep appreciation for learning, people, travel, music, language and life. In 1959 she married Ross Wagner Johnson and moved to Okinawa, Japan where her first two children, Wayne and Leslie, were born on the US Army base. She moved next to Nutley, NJ, completed college at Upsala College, NJ (BA 1964) and then moved to Woodstock, NY, where her third child, David, was born. Her love of animals and nature blossomed at Rondale Hoeve in Stone Ridge, NY where, for more than 4 decades, she enjoyed raising her family, caring for her historic home, cultivating her gardens, and delighting in her horses and dogs.

Jan's life-long contributions to community were evidenced by leading and teaching in diverse organizations including the Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, Fair Street Dutch Reform Church (elder), American Field Service (AFS) Kingston chapter (co-founder), Ulster Garden Club (president), Rondout-Esopus Land Conservancy, Ulster Literacy Association (15 years) and New York Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO). Fluent in Spanish, she cultivated friendships with people around the world including in Norway, the Netherlands, Mexico, South and Latin America and more. Her many deep and lifelong friendships were enjoyed continuously through travel and in gatherings at her home and abroad.

She is survived by her devoted family including her children: Leslie Johnson Mather (Michael McGovern) of Pine Bush, NY, David Mitchelhill Johnson (Lisa Muth) of Scottsdale, AZ, Turid Buraas (Roy) of Halden, Norway and Julie Johnson of Myrtle Beach, SC, her grandchildren: Courtney, Ross (Amelia Christian), Ashby (Christina Maney) Johnson, Darien (Jack Sternal) and 2LT John Mather, and Lizzie (Andre Price) and Garrett Johnson, her beloved younger sister, Jeri Riney (Charles) of Albuquerque, NM and her cherished great-grandson, Theodore Johnson.

Janis was preceded in death by her adored first-born son, Ross Wayne Johnson (Rosa Maria Fortin).

Arrangements are entrusted to Keyser Funeral & Cremation Service, Kingston, NY. A tribute for Janis may be found at www.KeyserFuneralService.com, where you may leave memories and expressions of sympathy for her family. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to Rondout-Esopus Land Conservancy https://www.relandconservancy.org/ and/or Ulster Literacy https://ulsterliteracy.org/

A celebration of Jan's life is being planned in High Falls in early January '25.