BATH – Selma E. Johnson, 87, formerly of Chelmsford Mass., passed away on Jan. 1, 2024.

Selma was the daughter of the late John M. Johnson Jr. and Edith (Lanoix) Johnson. Selma was predeceased by her infant older brother, John Magnus Johnson II; beloved cousins Dick Johnson, Johnny Johnson and Christie (Johnson) Young, whom she visited every summer and holidays.

Born on Nov 19, 1936, in Manchester, N.H., Selma spent the first four years of her life with her parents and paternal grandparents in Bath. These first four years left a permanent impression on Selma, even after moving to Chelsea, Mass., she always considered herself a “Mainer”, and Bath was in many ways, home.

A graduate of Chelsea High School, class of 1954, Selma worked at Sears Roebuck in Boston, Mass. with her mother, and then spent most of her working life as a secretary for the University of Lowell Center for Atmospheric Research. Following her retirement from U. Mass Lowell in the 1990s, Selma then worked for Lowell Digisonde, Joyce Chen Inc., various law firms and lastly at the Hub Mill Store in Lowell, Mass., where she combined her lifelong love of knitting with customer service and retail. A gifted and talented knitter, she knitted pattern samples for Classic Elite Yarns, the parent company of the Hub Mill Store along with store samples for the Hub Store.

Selma was a strong, opinionated woman, who delighted in being unconventional. She enjoyed racing cars with her cousins, and was very proud of having driven one of the first imported street legal Jaguars on a local track at over 120 mph. She also had seatbelts installed on her roadster before they were required by the DOT. She greatly missed driving in her later years. She was also a proponent of Women’s Rights before they were popular.

Selma enjoyed travelling, finding the time to journey to Norway, where her Johnson relatives emigrated from. She was proud of her heritage, and the beauty of the Nordics remained an inspiration to her for the rest of her life.

Her marriage to Jose A. Masaoy, was short lived and to her regret, Selma had no children. Cats were her beloved companions from childhood onward.

Fiercely independent, Selma lived life on her own terms. You might not have agreed with these terms, but it was as she wished.

Selma is survived by her cousins and their families, Marjorie C. Hawkes, Dot Mitchell, Jennifer Osterhout, Victoria Johnson, John H. Johnson Jr. and Pamela (Johnson) LeBoardais. She will be missed by her dear friends, Kate Salter Jackson and Judie Dyer, and her beloved cat, Starburst.

A Celebration of life will be held in the spring.

To share your thoughts and condolences with the family, please visit http://www.desmondfuneralhomes.com

In lieu of flowers,

donations can be made to the charity of your choice

in Selma’s honor.

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