SSEFO Web Team - Pamela J. Johnson

Family Representative

    

     Pamela Jean Rafferty was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1952.  Her father was a cook on the ships that sailed the Great Lakes.  Her mother Brooksie was a stay-at-home mom.  She had a half-brother, Randal Williamson, that her father raised as his son; Randal's father died in 1947.  Pam later married in 1969 to a Mr. Johnson, with whom she is still married.

     Pam's remembers her years as a child, meeting her father at different docks in many cities.  She was able to see many things like Niagara Falls and big cities like Chicago.  Pam loved eating meals on the ships when the ship he was on came to Toledo.  She can remember that many times her mom and dad would rushing back to the docks to be on time when they were stopped by trains and her dad always got back just in time to not be late.  Pam also very clearly recalls her dad sailing to India, Vietnam, and even Japan.  He once brought the family a set of china back from Japan.

     When Robert Rafferty was on the Fitz the night it sank Mrs. Johnson was eight months pregnant with her fourth child and was living in Georgia. Pam says she was never able to attend any services for her father until 2000 when Gordon Lightfoot came to Kansas to do a concert. There she met him back stage and they talked about his song.  Pam showed him a letter he had written to her in 1977, which he did remember sending her. On the 25th anniversary of the sinking of the ship, Mrs. Johnson was able to attend the ceremony at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and ring the bell for her father.  Each year she also attends the service in Detroit at Mariners' Church.  Pam says she plans someday to go back to Whitefish Bay and ring the bell from the ship.

     Pam currently works in a nursing home as a Certified Dietary Manager. She has been at my job for several years, where she cooks food for the residents.  She has always worked as a cook, just like her dear father Robert Rafferty, who died on November 10, 1975 when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.  She also helps with the research and development of this website, and helps answering questions pertaining to the crew and her father, Robert Rafferty.

To send Pam a message, click here.