Edward Johnson

BRATTLEBORO—Edward D. "Ted" Johnson, 66, died Sunday morning, Sept. 15, 2002, at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.

He was born Dec. 12, 1935 in Catasauqua, Pa., a son of the Rev. Bradford Johnson and Dorothy FitzGerald Johnson. He grew up in Cambridge, Mass., Brunswick, Maine, and Nantucket, Mass. He attended the Landhaven School and Phillips Exeter Academy, and received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in 1957.

He served two years in the army at Fort Jay on Governor’s Island in New York City.

In 1967, he married Veronica E. "Ronny" Waggoner in Providence, R.I. They lived in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Shelter Island, N.Y., before moving to Brattleboro in 1984.

A lifelong wordsmith, Mr. Johnson was a book editor, holding positions at several New York publishing houses including Winchester Press, Knopf, and Simon and Schuster. For 27 years he was a freelance editor, working with major writers including Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, Frederick Busch, and David Halberstam, and on the memoirs of such eminent people as Colin Powell, John McCain, and May Sarton. He is the author of the "Handbook of Good English," a reference book widely used in the trade.

He was survived by his wife; a son, Christopher Johnson; his brothers, William Bradford Johnson of Rockford, Ill., and Phillip Bradford Johnson of Des Moines, Iowa; and his sister-in-law, Jane LoMonaco of Brattleboro.

A funeral service was held at Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church Saturday, Sept. 21; Burial will be in the Waggoner family lot in the North Hollow Cemetery in Rochester.

Memorial contributions for a book fund in his name may be made to Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street, Brattleboro, Vt. 05301.

Atamaniuk Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

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