USA Swimming and high school coach Jeff Johnson passed away unexpectedly on February 15, just a day before the Massachusetts High School State Meet scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. His passing was announced on the Patriot Swim Club’s Facebook page and also in several prominent area news outlets, including the Boston Globe.
Johnson was the longtime head coach of the Acton-Boxborough high school team, coaching the boy’s team since 1977 and the girl’s team since 2002. He also founded the Patriot Swim Club in 1992, where he also served as head coach. He was recognized many times over as Coach of the Year by the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, and the Lowell Sun, and was most recently inducted into the Acton-Boxborough High School Athletic Hall of Fame in April of 2018.
In the Globe report, Acton-Boxborough Athletic Director Steve Martin said that the community is “devastated” by Johnson’s passing and remembered him as “an incredible guy.”
“He would always come in early, stop in, say hi to me, and check on my family,” said Martin.
You can see the full Facebook post from the Patriot Swim Club below:
In a follow-up Facebook post, the Patriot Swim Club announced that calling hours for Coach Johnson will be on Tuesday, February 19 from 5-8pm at the Miles Funeral Home, with a service following at 11am on Wednesday, February 20.
The Boston Globe contributed to this report.
A great loss, and a good friend to a lot of us in NISCA. Condolences and our love to his family and teams.
I looked forward to seeing Jeff every year at our NISCA Conference. It just won’t be the same without him there. He was one of the kindest soft spoken coaches I have ever met.
I agree. Enjoyed his company each year at NISCA and had a wonderful visit with he and his wife when they visited Hilton Head some years back. An outstanding coach who will be missed by all who knew him.