Morristown Father, 'Unofficial Mayor,' Lost To Coronavirus

MORRISTOWN, NJ - The new coronavirus, or COVID-19, has robbed the Morristown community of a native son, school district and medical center employee, friend and father as William Darell Johnson died April 18, after a 26 day battle on a ventilator at the age of 43.

He was so dedicated to his community that his ex-wife considered him the "unofficial mayor" of Morristown.

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He left behind his four children; 22-year-old Katelyn, 13-year-old AJ, nine-year-old Emma and four-year-old Maycie. A fundraiser for the children has been set up by friends.

"Darell was a wonderful Dad and extremely hard worker. He could light up a room with his smile and infectious personality. Darell worked full-time for the Morris School District in the guidance office, he worked part time for Morristown Medical Center, he also was a bouncer at the Grasshopper and Tavern Off the Green," his ex-wife Melissa Johnson told Patch. "He loved spending as much time as he could with his kids. When he wasn’t working he was most likely socializing throughout his day. He was the unofficial Mayor of Morristown. People would always say to him he should run for mayor since he knew everyone in town, lived here his whole life and dedicated so much of his time to getting to know and helping the community."

Darell Johnson began his life in Morristown on July 30, 1976 at the Morristown Memorial Hospital, the same hospital he would die in. He was known as a gentle giant, teddy bear, and devoted father and attended Morris School District schools. From an early age, Darell attended the Union Baptist Church of Morristown with this family. He and his brother were baptized there, attended Sunday School, and served as junior deacons.

Darell was a 1994 graduate of Morristown High School where he earned a varsity letter in track and football. He also attended his beloved Penn State University and remained connected to sports as an avid fan of Penn State football, the Jets, Mets, and UNC college basketball sports teams.

He also left Morristown High with more than just a sports connection.

"Darell and I met in September of 1993 at Morristown High. The first time I saw him and his Morristown High jersey I knew I had to meet him," Melissa Johnson said. "As luck would have it I met him later on that day through a mutual friend. From there we became friends and the rest is history."

That history led to a friendship that spanned the years and eventually grew into more, as they began dating in 2002 when Melissa's daughter Katelyn was four.

"We had our son AJ in 2006 and got married in 2007," Melissa said.

Even though the couple divorced in 2015, they still remained close through the ups and downs.

"Not having our children full-time was very hard for both of us, so we decided to move back in together to raise our children full time together until 2018," Melissa said.

They had that arrangement until very recently. Even after they decided to maintain separate households, they made the arrangement work. Though they split the time as per the parental agreement, Darell got AJ off the bus everyday and picked Maycie up from the sitter and would meet Melissa when she was done working.

"We were a team, we called ourselves Team Johnson," Melissa said. "Of course we had our little disagreements here and there but we still remained friends for our children and even vacationed together just this past summer with our children and family friends."

It Was After A Birthday Party

The family got together to celebrate the youngest's birthday at Darell's apartment since the pandemic forced them to cancel her big birthday party that was supposed to take place that day at Hillside Firehouse with friends and family.

It wasn't long after that Darell began developing symptoms. This was while his kids were with him. Melissa said that he seemed fine when she went to pick up the kids, but in talking to Emma, she found out that he was coughing a lot.

"So I texted him and called him that I did not get an answer back so I went over to his apartment, when I got there I could tell he was very sick his breathing was very bad," she said. "We got ready and I brought him to the hospital, when we arrived his oxygen was so low they came out and hooked him up to the oxygen before even bringing him inside."

Darell kept in touch with Melissa, and he was admitted to the Morristown Medical Center and tested for pneumonia and COVID-19. He called me a couple hours later and let me know that he was being treated for pneumonia and tested for COVID-19.

He was positive for both.

Doctors told Melissa that both her and the children needed to be quarantined for 14 days. During that period Melissa and all of her children became symptomatic and fought their way back to health.

"We have all since recovered and have been symptom-free for over two weeks now," Melissa said.

That was not the case for Darell.

Melissa put Darell on speakerphone and they told the children he would need medicine and a breathing machine.

"Darell was very calm and did not seem nervous or scared so the children were not scared either," Melissa said. "We had a nice conversation and all said I love you to each other and got off the phone Darell and I stayed in to in communication until the doctors came in to intubate him."

Twenty six days later, he was gone.

Help Requested

Melissa said that the pain of losing Darell has been intense and it makes thinking about the future hard. Especially for her children.

"Thinking about all the special events in their lives they won’t have him there for. Katelyn’s graduation, Emma turning double digits in May, AJ’s starting at the high school where Darell worked, Maycie’s first day of kindergarten, all of their weddings," she said. "It just doesn’t seem fair."

Morris School District Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast said that Darell was going to be missed greatly.

"Darell worked in the district for 21 years," Pendergrast said. "He was one of the kindest people I've ever met. He cared deeply for everyone in the community."

Governor Phil Murphy also posted to social media about Darell, highlighting the need to keep his children and ex-wife and best friend, Melissa in our prayers.

Despite the tragedy, Melissa was quick to point out the thanks Team Johnson has for the staff of Morristown Medical Center, and to the "Angels of Gagnon 3."

"I can’t express how much you all mean to us. We love and pray for you everyday and we thank you for all you did for Darell," she said.

Melissa said the outpouring of love and support is going to be what the family needs to move forward.

"It is going to be a struggle raising four kids without him now. And we are going to and already do miss him so much," Melissa said. "It’s incredible what people have donated so far especially during these unprecedented and difficult times. I have been absolutely amazed. And want to thank everyone for all the love, prayers, well wishes and donations. You are all my heroes."

There is a GoFundMe setup to assist Darell's family. Patch is a GoFundMe promotional partner.

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This article originally appeared on the Morristown Patch