Woodstock, Vermont

Doris Elizabeth (Barclay) Johnston, at 97 years and 11 months, died peacefully on Monday evening, March 10th at Mertens House in Woodstock, having bid many of her family members goodbye the preceding Saturday and Sunday.

Doris was born on April 10, 1927 in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of William Reid and Gladys E. (Waters) Barclay. She grew up in Medford, MA, graduating from Medford High School. She then worked for NorthEast Airlines for four years, enjoying the benefits of traveling while an employee there. In 1950 at the age of twenty-three, she married David Brodie Johnston, and they moved to New Haven, Connecticut, as he finished his M.Div. at Yale Divinity School. In 1951, the family moved to Bradford, Vermont, then to Brockton, MA, in 1957, and finally to Woodstock in 1960, where David was called to serve the First Congregational Church. She and David felt that Woodstock provided a good environment for their growing family. They stayed for twenty-four years until David retired and they moved to their retirement home in Thetford Center, Vermont, where they continued extending hospitality to friends and family. After many happy years there, they sold the "Farm" and moved to Quechee, Vermont. While Doris enjoyed traveling with her husband to Europe, Israel, Bermuda, and many parts of the United States, when home, she avidly entertained, tended her vegetable and flower gardens, read, and loved her family.

As a very active member of the First Congregational Church of Woodstock, she served in several different roles throughout her long life, but one of her favorite activities was participating in Bible studies in a variety of contexts, continually exploring the wisdom and encouragement there. Above all, she loved the Lord Jesus Christ: as an exemplar of faith, hope, and love, she will be missed by all who knew her.

She is survived by her five sons: Thomas, a dentist who practiced locally, Mark, a veterinarian who practiced in Clifton Park, New York, Neil, an English professor in Louisiana, Peter, a local merchant in Woodstock, and David, a lawyer with a practice in Concord, New Hampshire. Her daughters-in-law were much loved, too: Elaine, Nancy, Denise, Kathleen, Allison, and Andrea. In addition, she leaves fourteen beloved grand- children, eighteen great grandchildren, her brother John (Jack) Barclay and his wife Brenda, and many other cousins, nieces, and nephews. She was predeceased by her par- ents, Gladys and William and her uncle, John Barclay, her faithful and loving husband, the Rev. David B. Johnston, their daughter Ruth Elizabeth, her brother William, and her dear cousin, Elizabeth Bryant (Liz).

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 5th at 2:00pm at the First Congregational Church of Woodstock. Burial will be held at a later date in the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Randolph, Vermont, beside her husband.

Donations in her memory may be made to: The First Congregational Church of Woodstock; Dayspring Pregnancy Center; Mid Vermont Christian School