In Memoriam: Dr. Fannie Gaston-Johansson
Dr. Fannie Gaston-Johansson
Pearl Member/Professor Emerita
Pearl Member Fannie Gaston-Johansson became an Ivy Beyond the Wall on January 7, 2023. Dr. Fannie Gaston Johansson was initiated into the Gamma Lambda Chapter at Winston-Salem State University in 1957 and was an active member of Upsilon Epsilon Omega at the time of her passing.
Gaston-Johansson grew up in Hickory, North Carolina, and earned a BS in nursing from Winston-Salem State University. She arrived at Johns Hopkins as an associate professor in 1993 after a well-traveled medical, teaching, and research career that included stops in North Carolina, New York, Texas, California, Nebraska, and Sweden, where she earned a PhD in nursing at the University of Gothenburg.
A true trailblazer, the internationally renowned nurse educator, researcher, and clinical practitioner was the first Black woman to become a tenured professor at the renowned Johns Hopkins University. She maintained her appointments at Hopkins while also returning to the University of Gothenburg, where she served as dean and a professor from 2001 to 2005, dividing her time between Baltimore and Sweden.
In 2007, she was named the first chair of the School of Nursing Department of Acute and Chronic Care. Dr. Gaston-Johansson directed the Center on Health Disparities Research, which works to advance understanding of health disparities across the lifespan. In 2022, Johns Hopkins University named a faculty recruitment effort after her. The Fannie Gaston-Johansson Faculty Excellence Program will continue her legacy by bringing diverse scholars to the university, with a focus on the STEM field.
She cherished spending time with her grandchildren. She loved to laugh, dance at the annual crab feast, support her debutantes and share stories with other Golden Sisters. Dr. Fannie Gaston-Johansson is loving remembered by her sons: Patrik Johansson, Christian Johansson (Lacey), and Nicholas Johansson (AKA Sister Crystal Watkins); daughter Andrea Johansson; special nephew Larry Gaston; seven grandchildren, Isaac, Noah, Carter, Morley, Asher, Arden, and Atlas; brother Douglas Gaston (Shirley), and numerous loving relatives, friends, and colleagues.
If you are interested in making a gift in honor of Dr. Fannie Gaston-Johansson…
Gifts in memory of Dr. Gaston-Johanssoncan be made to the Fannie Gaston-Johansson Faculty of Excellence Program on the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing website at https://www.nursing.jhu.edu under the Alumni and Giving section.
For gifts to her alma mater, the School of Health Sciences at Winston-Salem State University, please visit https://www.wssu.edu/about/offices-and-departments/university-advancement/donate-now.html. For a WSSU donation, please select the School of Health Sciences under the Department-Operating section and include Dr. Fannie Gaston-Johansson’s name under the Tribute Information section.