Johanna (Jensen) Johannessen

Loudonville - Johanna Jensen Johannessen, 96, of Albany-Shaker Road, died Sunday, December 18, 2016, at Loudonville Assisted Living Residence after a brief illness.

Born in Fitjar, Norway, on February 23, 1920, she was the daughter of the late Karl Jensen and Dorothea  Halvardsdtr Jensen and wife for 62 years of the late Alf Johannessen. She was raised and educated in Norway, immigrating to the United States at the age of 19 where she settled in Brooklyn, NY. Johanna and Alf spent many happy weekends and summer vacations at their summer home in Stone Ridge, NY, retiring there permanently in 1982. Upon retirement, Johanna had been a baker for the executive dining room of JP Morgan Chase & Co., in Manhattan, for 17 years. In 1997, she and Alf moved to Highpointe, Troy, NY to be closer to family.

Throughout her years in Brooklyn, she was an active member of the Salem Gospel Tabernacle in Brooklyn, and her involvement there formed the core of her social and spiritual life. Her greatest joy was singing the Christian hymns, and she was proud to be a part of the church choir, as well as to perform solos. Until the end of her life, she was still regaling the residents and staff with her singing at the Loudonville Home. Johanna was an avid baker who plied her family with waffles, Julekake, and every kind of cookie imaginable. But, her “pièce de résistance” was her apple pie. Try as we might, we could never replicate that delicacy! We never tired of hearing stories of her youth, delivering bread by boat from her father’s bakery, to the islands surrounding Fitjar. While cherishing her US citizenship, she always referred to Norway as “home.” 

Johanna is survived by her two sons, Arnold Johannessen of Park Ridge, NJ and C. Howard (Paula) Johannessen, of Wynantskill. She was a loving grandma to Ronda, Carrie Anne, Amy and Lori Johannessen, Sara (Chris) Mooney and Cory (Cate) Johannessen. From passing on her culinary skills to making snowmen, skiing and plunging into frigid ocean waters, she always found great joy in spending time with her grandchildren. She was blessed by three great-grandchildren, Simon, Willa and Mae Mooney, and how she loved those little ones!   Johanna is also survived by several nieces and nephews, who are sad to see the last of this generation pass away. She was predeceased by her parents, siblings, Selmer Jensen (Oddney), Laura Hansen, Klara Carlsen (Charles) and Borghild Haugland (Simon), and her daughter-in-law, Caroline Johannessen.

A memorial service, as yet to be determined, will be announced at a later date.

A private interment will be held at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Waterford, NY.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Johanna Johannessen to the Walter Hoving Home, P.O. Box 19, 40 Walter Hoving Road, Garrison, NY 10524 or Alpha Pregnancy Care Center, 518 Clinton Ave, Albany, NY 12206. 

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