Eugene Johnstone

Eugene Hall Johnstone passed away on the evening of August 25 at his home in Chestertown, MD surrounded by his family. Gene was 88 years old. The eldest of five children, he was born in Ragland, Alabama, on June 13, 1922 to Eugene Donald Johnstone and Mary Ester Hall. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he edited the yearbook, They Yackety Yack for three years, and was awarded the Ernest T. Abernethy Award for excellence in student publication. After serving in the US Navy during World War II, Gene worked as a Administrative Assistant to Senator John J. Sparkman, of Alabama, and later accepted the position with the State Dept., working with displaced persons in Germany, where he met his wife Peggy. They recently celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary. Following his service with the State Dept., Gene took a job with McCall’s Publishing as an Account Executive. He later left McCall’s to become Vice President of Barton-Cotton Publishing and eventually settled into a semi-retirement in Chestertown as a realtor. Always active in historic restoration projects, he served as president of the Kent County Historical Society, and edited Historical Houses of Kent County. He restored both the Wallis-Wickes House and 105 – 107 S. Mill St., in Chestertown and has left his mark on the historic restoration movement in Chestertown and Kent County. Gene was passionate about the subjects that were dear to him including gardening (especially his roses), antiques and his family. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Kennedy (Peggy), as well as their seven children and eighteen grandchildren, Hall and Betsy Johnstone, Bethesda, MD and their sons, Cole and Lex; Laura and John Wilson, Worton, MD and their children Wayles, Nate, Garth and Jack, Virginia and Peter Allen, Chestertown, MD, and their children Peter, Tom, Katherine and Margaret; Margaret and Patrick Wilson, La Jolla, CA and their son Chaz and Hall; Jane Johnstone, San Francisco, CA, and her daughter Griffin; Anne and Bill Norris, Chestertown, MD and their children Miles and Hayley; Rebecca Johnstone Appleton, Grasonville, MD, and her daughters Eliza, Amanda and Bellamy. He is survived by his sister, Virginia Sisson, of Columbia, MS. He was preceded in death by his brother Robert, Joseph and Frank. Funeral were held Monday, August 30, at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, in Chestertown, MD Gene was buried at Monticello Cemetery, in Charlottesville, VA on Tuesday, August 31. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to Chester River Home Care and Hospice 6602 Church Hill Rd., Suite 300 Chestertown, MD 21620 or the Monticello Association c/o William Leigh Taylor Jr., 1013 Barkdull St., Houston, TX 77006-6570.

Eugene Johnstone

June 13, 1922 - August 25, 2010