Tara Lee Johnson

December 19, 1957 - October 11, 2024

Tara Lee Johnson, born Tara Lee Carrilli in 1957 left the earth on October 11th 2024.

She is preceded in death by her ex-husband Mike, her brother Mark and her mother Jacqueline. She leaves behind two daughters Kat and Lauren Johnson and two tiny granddaughters Zinnia and Clementine.

Tara was a resilient woman who rose from ashes many times despite being challenged by early life struggles, dyslexia, divorce, natural disaster, addiction, health and mental health challenges. Despite this she worked full time in leading Silicon Valley investment firms during the tech boom while raising her two girls as a single mom in Palo Alto. 

She enjoyed rock and roll, dancing, flirting, menthol cigarettes, geology and getting her nails done, going to the beach and romantic movies. 

She valued radical honesty, authentic connection, transparency and loved her kids ferociously. She was an advocate for women, single moms, and those battling addiction. 

She grew up in Los Trancos woods in the California Bay Area, with four brothers. Tara attended Sierra College. She studied child development and worked with special needs children. 

As a mom to Kat and Lauren she was creative and fun. Often answered the phone by saying ‘Johnson home for wayward women, whose calling?’. She invented interactive games for Christmas morning so that opening presents took half the day instead of a split second blitz. She picked flowers on the side of the highway often. She created special birthday parties and getaways to honor her girls milestones. She taught them how to play hooky from school, thrift shop, have garage sales, decorate, dine out, veg out, and how to get in the door and advocate for yourself as a woman and mom. 

She uprooted and moved many times but her last move to Floyd County was a special time and a new lease on life. She found new friendships and volunteer opportunities at Angels and Plenty and organized a local women’s group. She delighted by being well known in a small town and was thrilled to finally become a Grandma. 

She is dearly missed. 

A celebration of life will be held in Floyd, VA in the coming months. Please follow the link to be added to the guest list and share this announcement with others who knew and loved Tara. https://forms.gle/6L2P8pV2rRHuaxTUA

Dear Kat, I am so very sorry to hear of the loss of your Mom. I surely enjoyed meeting her, talking to her, and getting to know her. She came to my mind just within the last week. I thought "I haven't seen her for a while". I wish I had known her longer. My heart hurts for you and your family. Love and prayers.

Sending much love to her daughters (my nieces) and to Tara's brothers and father.

She sounds like a truly amazing woman. My deep condolences to Kat and all her family.