Obituary

Riley D. Johnson, Jr. was the third child, first son of the late Riley D. Johnson, Sr., and Laura (Darden) Johnson. He was born on June 26, 1938. He attended Arsenal School, Northeast Brackett and was a member of Weaver High School’s class of 1956. He was proud to say that he grew up in Bellevue Square. Riley continued to reside in the northend neighborhood of the city of Hartford.

Riley started his passion of photography at an early age and served as Weaver’s school photographer. Riley was an entrepreneur and learned his business acumen from Jacob Hyman of Jake’s Drug Store. He worked there after school and delivered the Hartford Times. Riley was a hustler at a young age! His copy-written photos were frequently used by the NorthEnd Agent and the Hartford Inquirer.

Riley’s superb photography talent was widely acclaimed not only in Hartford; but in California, Chicago, and New York to name a few. He nested his studio “Photos by Riley”, later known as Johnson’s Studio of Photography in the Upper Albany area where he served as the local mayor. Riley has taken pictures of almost everyone and every event in Hartford. After retiring, he continued to free-lance out of his home on Clark St.

Riley devoted many hours of community service to the city of Hartford; you could always count on him to be the neighborhood block watcher. He listened to his scanner and was often at a crime scene before HPD, and always knew the whereabouts of his favorite officer; Boo Boo. He traveled to Poland with a local school dance troupe, mentored the youth in the Upper Albany area, was an active member of his church and lodge, visited the elderly frequently and let’s not forget; attended everyone’s funeral.

Riley’s achievements have been recognized by many in his community including the NAACP, the Jaycees, the Hartford Police Department, and the Urban League just to name a few. Bro. Riley Johnson, Jr. was raised to a Master Mason and faithfully served as an Honorary Past Master of Excelsior Lodge #3, Prince Hall Affiliate of Hartford, Connecticut. Two achievements that were most important to him were being acknowledged by the Artists Collective by Jackie and Dollie McLean and being appointed a honorary Connecticut State Police Lieutenant.

Riley was known for his gift of gab, his no edit button, his wit, his sarcasm, his brutal honesty, his activism, being authentic, his “keeping it real” spirit, his unwavering love of community, his flamboyant socks and let’s not forget “Not Yet!” Riley was best known for making you laugh. He was also described as the GOAT, being driven, focused, concerned, proud and tough. Within 60 seconds of being in his presence, tears would be rolling down your cheeks from laughter.

Riley has been a mainstay in the Northend, the city of Hartford as well as the State. EVERYONE knew Riley. He photographed many celebrities that included Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali, Dionne Warwick, Presidents Clinton and Kennedy, Sammy Davis Jr., Flip Wilson, Johnnie Cochran, Jessie Jackson and his beloved Maya Angelou.

Lew Brown stated that Riley had been the court jester since they were children., his attire set the tone with class and his casual plaid pants and colorful socks. He was the keeper of the flame and created a sense of neighborhood. He is our neighborhood and our community. Your father was a mess. He could talk his way out of anything. He was always for his people, but not against anyone else.

Some recent comments of his high school classmates include “Riley helped make Weaver a fun and friendly place to be. He deserves a statue. An icon bringing all people together with his personality. If you don’t love Riley you don’t love life.” – Fred Dressler.

Riley leaves to mourn his loving wife and partner of 40 years Cerise Johnson, daughter Tracey Stanley and (his favorite son-in-love Ulysses), Troy Johnson (Chara), Robin Talbot-Porter, Tesha Black-Patterson, Riley D. Johnson, III (Tyanna), Kurt Sincere Harrison (Elida), and Sean Harrison (Nicola). 

18 Grandchildren, Trey, Reba, Troy, Vaneece, Ebony, Joseph, Riley IV, Ryan, Justice, Adan, Solana, Ronin, Sean Jr., Shaiellis, Saje, Shayelis, Selina and Nicola.9 Great grandchildren Troy, Milan, Cali, Jayden, Jayla, King-Bless, Kashya, Nessiah and Ny’lah.

Siblings, Carole Hogan, Barbara Ragland, Elnora Cook and Howard Johnson, brother-in-love Donald Chafin (Brenda). Many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends including special lifelong friends Lew Brown, Roosevelt Terry, Robert Countryman and Lee Martin.

Riley was predeceased by his precious grandson Andre E. James, Jr. and son-in-law Christopher Patterson.