Louise Holmberg Johnson was born in November 1936 and died on December 25, 2022.
Louise was born in Chicago in 1936 to Frank and Muriel Bible of Oak Park, Ill.
She met her first husband, Richard (Dick) Holmberg, while attending college at Lake Forest in Ilinois.
She married Dick Holmberg in 1958 and agreed to honeymoon with him on St. Thomas where he had served in submarines in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s. He wanted her to fall in love with the islands as he had, so he insisted on flying only to Puerto Rico and hitching a ride to St. Thomas on a native sloop so that Louise would first see St. Thomas from the sea by sailing into the harbor.
Dick had earlier applied for a job with the Navy in St. Thomas, so while there on honeymoon, he went and knocked on the door to “check on his job application.” He impressed them enough to get hired as the airport manager, and Louise and Dick settled on St. Thomas and lived in Navy housing at Lindberg Bay.
Soon after, Louise gave birth at Knud Hansen Memorial Hospital to two sons, John and then Peter Holmberg. The family was joined by Nellie Boyles and her two young children, Dennis and Diane, from St. Kitts, who helped raise the four kids into their teens.
Louise fell in love with the water and taught the kids to swim soon after they could walk. Swimming lessons in Lindbergh Bay with Ann Clark soon followed. In exchange for free entry to Magens Bay, Louise would also teach swimming to local boys and girls.
Louise and Dick became interested in sailing and started in Sailfish and Sunfish at Sapphire Beach, where they taught their two boys to sail at 3 and 4 years old. Soon after, the St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC) was started in Cowpet Bay, and Dick, Louise and the kids became very active in sailing. It was a very special time for the growth of sailing in the Virgin Islands, and great sailors from around the world would attend local regattas. Louise won many races and in 1971 traveled to Venezuela to compete in the 2nd Sunfish World Championships, where she became the Woman’s Sunfish World Champion. She continued to race back in the Virgin Islands and also crewed on bigger boats throughout the Caribbean as that racing grew popular.
Louise re-married to Richard Johnson, also a renowned sailor, in 1976. They operated Red Hook Agencies Insurance and traveled the world extensively for insurance and sailing events. They built a second home in Newport, N.C., and would travel back and forth to St. Thomas.
Dick Johnson passed away in 2005, and Louise’s sons, John and Peter, have looked after her since. She continued to love her St. Thomas home and her regular swims at Lindqvist Beach.
She is survived by her brother Bill and his family in Rolling Meadows, Ill.; sons John and Peter; grandchildren: Kayla Dittrich and Kai Holmberg; and many friends and their families.
Louise chose to be cremated and have her ashes scattered alongside her late husband’s in the clear waters of the USVI.
In lieu of flowers or donations, Louise would love it most if you would take time to appreciate and share in the waters, natural beauty and the people of our Virgin Islands. These things gave her the most wonderful and adventurous life she could ever have dreamed of.
A sunset gathering is planned for a Spring 2023 celebration of life on St. Thomas with any who care to join us.
Fair Winds and Following Seas to a wonderful Soul.
