Jean Carolyn Johnston Lawry — longtime bookstore manager and proud mother, grandmother, sister, and auntie — passed away at her home in Eureka on February 20, 2024. She was 81.
The middle child of Wayne and Virginia (Mullin) Johnston, Jean was born January 17, 1943, in Oakland. Along with her older siblings Bill Johnston and Judy Johnston Giannini, the family moved to Eureka in 1945, where Jean was later blessed with two more siblings - Helyn Johnston and Wayne (Corky) Johnston.
Following in the footsteps of her big sister, Jean attended St. Bernard’s High School in Eureka, graduating in 1961. It was at St. Bernard’s where she first met Neal Tierney (Class of ‘59). The two married in 1963 and had three children together - Jennifer, David, and Michael. Although the marriage ultimately ended, Jean and Neal remained friends throughout their lives.
In her early twenties, Jean worked for a few years as a teller at Bank of America in Eureka. Soon, however, her true calling became too strong to ignore, and she went to work in the family business — Fireplace Bookshop, located at the old Eureka Mall where Winco, Michael’s, and CVS Pharmacy are today. Jean helped her parents run the store very successfully for many years, eventually taking over as owner in 1990. For decades, Fireplace Bookshop had been renowned for its impressive inventory (30,000 titles spanning 50 categories) and excellent customer service. Jean was great with people, and it showed in her work and the many friendships she made over the years. Unfortunately, amid the rising challenges of competing with the national bookstore chains that had come to Eureka (not to mention a little startup online bookstore called Amazon), Fireplace Bookshop was forced to shut its doors in 1996.
It was during this period of her life that Jean met Richard (Rick) Lawry, and the two were married in 1990. Jean remained close to the Lawry family, even after the marriage ended several years later.
After closing the bookstore, Jean was undeterred from her lifelong love of books. She was soon hired by the College of the Redwoods bookstore in 1997 as a Bookstore Assistant, and she worked in this capacity for 10 years before landing a promotion to Bookstore Manager in 2007. Reporting to the Vice President of Business Services, Jean brought her considerable business and interpersonal skills to the manager role for five years before retiring in 2012. Jean often reflected on how much she enjoyed working with the students, faculty, and administration at College of the Redwoods.
In retirement, Jean had more time to devote to the things that she loved the most in life: reading, tending to her beautiful flower gardens, watching birds feast in the feeders that she always kept well-stocked, and spending time with her family. She was a proud and involved grandmother who rarely missed a ball game, recital, or performance, and after-school pickups and hangouts at Grammy’s house were a common (and fun) occurrence.
Family meant the world to Jean, and some of her fondest memories were the family gatherings at Gigi and Papa’s (as her parents were known to their grandchildren), where Papa would play the piano and everyone would sing songs, or when she was a child and Papa’s sister Auntie Beryl would pull up to the house at Christmas in a car jam-packed with the most exquisitely wrapped packages for Jean and her siblings. It gave Jean unending joy to pass on the history and Irish heritage of the Johnston and Mullin families through storytelling - usually leaving the listener doubled over in laughter! Even if a story had been told a hundred times before (and sometimes it had), you always wanted to hear it again, the way Jean told it.
Throughout her life, Jean also found great enjoyment in following the San Francisco pro sports teams, especially the Giants and the 49ers. And if you stopped by Jean’s place on a summer afternoon, it was not unusual to hear the quiet, soothing sounds of golf coming from the television, just as it had during the many summers spent at the Johnston family cabins in Petrolia or Willow Creek over the years.
Jean was a huge music lover, with Barbara Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Dave Brubeck, and the Kingston Trio among her favorite performers. As a young lady, she would listen to these artists on the radio in one of the several “cool” cars that she drove, whether it be the MG (with the top down), the Volkswagen Beetle, or the ‘57 Thunderbird. Jean also dabbled in modeling for local advertisers in her younger years.
Those of us who were fortunate enough to know Jean will always remember the joy that she brought to our lives through laughter, celebration, music, and the love that she held in her heart for her family and friends - the same love that they held in their hearts for her. She was one of one… as Irish as the day is long… and a beautiful soul we will never forget.
Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Wayne and Virginia Johnston, her brother Bill Johnston, and her sister Judy Giannini. She is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Tierney of Roseburg, OR; her sons David (Kristin) Tierney of Eureka, and Michael (Lizette) Tierney of Arcata; her grandsons Jacob Tierney of Sacramento, Jordan Tierney of Santa Rosa, and Wiyot Tierney, Santiago Tierney, and Patrick Tierney, all of Arcata; her sister and best friend Helyn Johnston of Eureka; her brother Corky Johnston (Vida Holguin) of Manhattan Beach, CA; her brother-in-law Nick Giannini of Eureka; her nephews John Giannini of Lake Havasu City, AZ, Matt (Linda) Giannini of Citrus Heights, CA, Tom Johnston of Carlsbad, CA, and Drew Johnston of Lebanon, OR; her nieces Felicia (Mark) Costa of Eureka, Sarah Johnston of Hollywood, Carrie DeBonis of Woodstock, MD, Jessica Johnston (Jessemin Sage) of Portland, OR, Virginia “Gina” Johnston (Keola Delatori) of Redondo Beach, CA, and Kathryn “Katie” Johnston (Michael Masenga) of Gardena, CA; and 14 great nieces and nephews.
Jean, Mom, Grammy, Auntie, sister, friend… until we meet again, may the road rise to meet you, and may the wind be ever at your back.
A memorial mass will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday April 12 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Eureka. All family, friends, acquaintances are welcome, and all are invited to wear a touch of green in celebration of Jean’s Irish heritage. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to the charity of one’s choice.
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