Ted Johnson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and prepared for Yale at Manhasset (New York) High School. He was a member of Timothy Dwight, where he rowed on its crew. He was a member of the Yale Aviation Club and secretary of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.

Ted was a History major. He received his M.A. at Stanford in 1971 in Anthropology. Ted had a varied career, including Navy service, a year studying linguistics in Peru, work in advertising, a year in Theological seminary, gardening, and teaching special education to disadvantaged youth in New York City.

He married Susan Seymour and in 1985 they settled in London, England, where Ted combined his two main professional interests of gardening and teaching by running a course to train unemployed young people in landscape gardening. He also ran his own landscaping business.

In 1994 Ted and Susan moved to Leeds in the north of England where he became involved in voluntary work including editing a newsletter for a non-profit organization which worked with families with troubled young children. He also became increasingly interested in creative writing but was taken ill before he could get established in that new field.

His widow writes that, "Ted had many hobbies including photography, flying, birdwatching, hiking and music. One of his greatest passions for many years was a 1964 Volkswagen camper in which we traveled together across the USA and throughout Europe during our vacations each year. He also loved design and began a collection of modern furniture. He sang bass in the Camden Choir in London and in the Leeds College of Music Choral Society."

Susan concluded: "We did not have any children but he kept in close touch with his six nieces in the USA and was a prolific letter-writer. We had a dog and two cats and he would look after them and our house and garden while I was away at the office. In 1995 we both started to attend a Quaker (Religious Society of Friends) meeting in Leeds and found this was a spiritual community that appealed to both of us. Ted is buried in the Quaker Burial Ground at the meeting house we attended at Adel in Leeds."

He died in Leeds, England.

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