Colrain- Lorraine E. (Karaffy) Johnson, 74, of Franklin Hill Road died Thursday 11/10/16 at the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, with her husband by her side; following a lengthy,courageous battle with cancer. She was born in Jersey City, NJ on March 24, 1942, the daughter of Karl and Margaret (Lutz) Karaffy.  Lorraine was a graduate of Snyder High School in Jersey City and continued her education at the Newark School of Fine Arts, where she met her beloved husband, Hale Johnson.  They married on October 7, 1961. After Hale’s two tours of duty in the Army,  Lorraine and Hale worked at various jobs before deciding to move to Colrain in 1966, where they lived in the Johnson family home until moving to Franklin Hill in 1971, where she spent the remainder of her life.

Lorraine was a floral designer, starting at Hobson’s Choice in West Dover, VT, then at Fairview Gardens in Northfield, specializing in weddings.  She had many talents, and enjoyed fashion design, water color and weaving.  Lorraine thoroughly enjoyed fundraising, was involved in the Franklin Land Trust  Art Auctions, and instrumental in the founding of The Foundation for Fiber Art in Amherst in 2001.

She enjoyed caring for her home, collecting antiques and entertaining. Lorraine especially loved her family, pets, friends and travelling.  Spending time on the coast of Maine was one of her favorite pastimes. 

Among her survivors, Lorraine leaves her beloved husband of fifty five years, Hale Johnson; a sister in law, Marilyn Taenzler of  Boonton Township, NJ;  a cousin, Gloria Bruno of Boca Raton, FL; and a niece, Elisa Ardalan of Emerson, NJ.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 6th at 11AM at the First Church in Old Deerfield with a reception to follow at the Deerfield Inn.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Colrain Fire and Rescue, 55 Main Road, Colrain, MA 01340 or to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society, P.O. Box 6307, Springfield, MA 01101-6307.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Kostanski Funeral Home.  Sympathy message available at www.kostanskifuneralhome.com. 

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