Charles “Charlie” Stephen Johnson, 76, passed away peacefully at home on April 28 2026, surrounded by his family. He leaves behind his wife of 52 years, Mary Ann Johnson, and his children, Max and Kasey Johnson. He is also survived by his sister, Sandra Johnson, and his niece, Raye Anne Johnson-Seiger.

Charlie was born on October 6, 1949, in Narragansett; the son of the late Elvin and Sara (Lee) Johnson. He now joins his brother Ray, his sister Brenda, and his nephew Troy.

Charlie was a South County local through and through. Born in Narragansett, he even spent some of his early years living in the Dunes Club gatehouse—it doesn’t get more local than that. He grew up loving the water, tooling around in a pram sailboat up and down Middlebridge at a very young age. In his teens, he picked up surfing and was talented enough to win an Oldsmobile at a local contest—only to promptly roll it over on the way back from a Jimi Hendrix concert.

But Charlie’s favorite activity was always sailing. He and Mary Ann spent years sailing their Hobie Cat around Rhode Island before moving up to the African Queen. The “Commander” and Mary Ann cruised “the Queen” up and down the East Coast with family and lifelong friends. When their two children were born, they were on the boat before they could crawl, making it the unofficial fifth member of the family.

In addition to his love of the water, Charlie loved to read, travel, go on “mystery rides”, spend time outdoors, and listen to music—any kind of music. The king and queen of the long weekend, Charlie and Mary Ann never wasted an opportunity for adventure. If the family wasn’t on Salt Pond or Block Island, they were camping, hiking or skiing in the White Mountains.

Charlie had a sense of humor in everything he did, from the outfits he wore to his memorable one-liners, like referring to something unappealing as “looking like a can of Spam.” Even when he opened his own painting contractor business, he named it “MBT Painting,” which stood for “Millions, Billions, and Trillions”—sarcasm at its finest.

Quick to share his opinion, whether you wanted to hear it or not, Charlie was always somehow surprised by the rising prices of things and disliked the unpredictability of New England weather; never shy about sharing his hatred of the cold. Always up for an adventure, and quick with a story, a smile, and a laugh, he was someone everyone was happy to call a friend.

His favorite saying was “Always ride the wave till it hits the beach”—and that’s exactly how he lived.

South County lost a big man and a big personality. He will be dearly missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held Thursday, June 4th from 3-6pm at the Bon Vue Inn in Narragansett.

In lieu of flowers please donate to the Back Life Charity of Rhode Island, to help kidney transplant patients that need financial assistance.