Samuel Jonas Johnson

LEWISTON – Samuel, born Feb. 27, 1987 in Lewiston, Maine, died suddenly in his home on Union Street early in the week of Aug. 22, 2021, after a lifelong battle with addiction. Sam, as most folks knew him, lived his entire life in Lewiston and both loved and hated this town. He was widely known in the community and had numerous friends and acquaintances. At the same time he was, too often, at odds with his home town, as attested to by his numerous encounters with the local justice system. He was passionate, always leading with how he felt. He had a sharp mind and a quick wit. He was deeply curious and loved discovering new ideas. He loved art, particularly music, poetry and cinema and was incredibly well versed in all three. He worked numerous jobs as a cook during his life, and had an enduring love for making a good meal in the kitchen. He could be loving, charming and generous. He could be immensely fun and engaging to spend time with. Sam was also deeply troubled, both by a mental health disorder and an addiction he could not control, which often made him evasive, irascible, even hurtful. He was a complicated individual, often difficult to be close with, who was, nevertheless, deeply loved by those who knew him best and who will be just as deeply missed.One of Sam’s proudest achievements was successfully completing the Androscoggin County Drug Court program, overseen at the time by Superior Court Justice MaryGay Kennedy, a diversion program created in this community specifically to address chronic criminal activity arising from addiction. It took him a year and a half to graduate, and the discipline and supervision were rigorous. During that time, he fought incredibly hard to overcome a debilitating disease and built meaningful new relationships along the way, many of whom will be grieving at this terrible loss. His graduation opened the door for him to begin anew a relationship with the most important person in his life, his son, Milo Quentin. The last three years with Sam had been a gift to himself, his son, his parents, his family and his friends alike, as we all had an opportunity to spend more time with him and get to know him again.Sam leaves behind his son of seven, Milo Quentin Horrigan Dumaine, and his mother, Hannah Elizabeth Horrigan; his parents, Karen Lynn (Hodgkiss) Johnson and Christopher Isaiah Dumaine; his brothers, Caleb Jeffrey Johnson, Gabriel Aaron Johnson, Eli Townsend Dumaine, and his sisters, Susan Hannah Johnson and Rose Garden Dumaine; his maternal grandfather, George Wayne Hodgkiss and his wife Jackie; his maternal step-grandfather, Joseph Patrick Reynolds; his paternal grandfather, Christopher Dumaine, Jr.; many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews; and many, many friends. He was predeceased by both his grandmothers, Nancy (Hodgkiss) Reynolds and Holly Hock Dumaine.His loving parents, who miss him beyond that which words can express, leave you with this remembrance from Norman Maclean, words from the last sermon he ever heard his own father preach: “Each one of us here today will at one time in our lives look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question: We are willing to help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? For it is true we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don’t know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it is those we live with and should know who elude us. But we can still love them—we can love completely without complete understanding.”Sam will be remembered by his immediate family in a private gathering. His parents encourageyou to consider a donation in Sam’s memory to the Jonathan Edward Brooking Memorial Fundfor Mental Health Research at McLean Hospital (mcleanhospital.org); or to the St. Francis Recovery Center, a division of the Catholic Charities Behavioral Health Network, at24 Dunn StreetAuburn, Maine