Theresa Johnson’s life is a whirl, from the home that is the center of family life to the job she cherishes as a school secretary to the struggle to keep her sons safe. Through it all – whether sitting outside a jail or dancing to blow off steam – her unquenchable spirit and dry wit remain intact.
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Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff
Theresa Johnson talked on the phone while her daughter, Ceecee, fixed the hair of her granddaughter Trinity.
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Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff
Theresa Johnson, center, spoke with her daughter, Ceecee, left, and her granddaughter's mother, Tricia Ariol while preparing lasagna at her home in Dorchester on June 13.
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Bill Greene/globe staff
Theresa Johnson, secretary at the Marshall Elementary School in Dorchester, got a hug from first-grader Shaundene Funches on the last day of the school year.
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Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff
A peace magnet is displayed on the refrigerator of Theresa Johnson’s home in Dorchester,
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Debee Tlumacki for the Boston Globe
Sean Dale-Johnson, 24, looked back at his daughter’s mother, Tricia Ariol, during his September court appearance in Quincy District Court. Sean violated his probation and is in jail awaiting trial in a separate case. His family is trying to survive the anxiety of not knowing when he’ll be home.
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Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff
Theresa Johnson sat in the car as her daughter, Ceecee, returned from putting money in Theresa's sons' canteen. Theresa's son Sean is at the South Bay House of Correction.
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Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff
Jalanae, Theresa’s youngest child, got her hair done by her mother while Tricia Ariol, mother of Jalanae's neice, looked on. Theresa Johnson sent her daughter to Crossroads for Kids summer camp, starting at home and seeing her off at BC High School on July 14.
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Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff
Theresa Johnson, right, took a picture of her son, Etohn Dale-Johnson, while he played "Deal or No Deal" during a birthday celebration for her nephew at Dave and Buster's in Braintree on Aug 19.
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Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff
Theresa Johnson celebrated her birthday at Slades Bar and Grille in Roxbury on Aug. 31.
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Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff
A tearful Theresa Johnson, left, hugged her daughter Jalanae as she returned from Crossroads for Kids camp on Aug 2.
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Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff
Trinity Dale-Johnson, granddaughter of Theresa Johnson, looked out the window of Johnson's home in Dorchester on June 13.
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