Barbara C. Johnston

Mrs. Barbara C. (Hurley) Johnston, of Waltham, died Friday, May 12, 2023 at Meadow Green Nursing Home in Waltham.  She was 91.

Barbara was born in Brighton on April 3, 1932, the daughter of the late Stephen and Margaret (Clark) Hurley, and was a graduate of Brighton High School.

In 1955 she married the love of her life, James W. Johnston [† September 26, 2012], and eight years later the pair moved to Waltham where they raised their family.

Barbara was a devoted wife and mother and was long active at Saint Mary’s Church where she taught CCD, served as a Eucharistic minister and had been a member of the Legion of Mary. She had also been a past president and treasurer of the Waltham Woman’s Club.

She was an avid reader and enjoyed yearly road trips with Jim around the country to destinations near and far.

She leaves her children, James W. Johnston, Jr. of Waltham, Patricia M. Butler of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Karen E. Muise (David) of Waltham, Susan L. MacDougall (Robert) of Winchendon and Carolyn B. Colantino (Salvatore) of Thompson, Connecticut; her grandchildren, Shannon and Kevin Johnston, Michael and Christopher Butler, Katherine Norman (Jonathan) and Jessica, Adam and Dylan Muise; her great-grandchildren, Vanessa, Wyatt, Maverick, Grace, Caroline and Ella; her sisters-in-law, Joan and Helen Hurley and many nieces, nephews and their families.

Barbara was also the grandmother of the late Ryan Johnston and the sister of the late Edward and Stephen Hurley.

Family and friends will honor and remember Barbara’s life by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Tuesday, May 16^th from 4 to 7 p.m. and again at 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning before leaving in procession to Saint Mary’s Church, 133 School Street, Waltham where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Grove Hill Cemetery, Waltham.

To watch a broadcast [and recording] of Barbara's Funeral Mass please visit https://my.gather.app/remember/barbara-johnston-2023

Memorial donations may be made to the Crohns & Colitis Foundation at https://takesteps.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=6508 or to the Arthritis Foundation, 29 Crafts St #100, Newton, MA 02458 or at https://www.arthritis.org/home