Posting by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
It's with great sadness to share that Johni Cerny, our chief genealogist for Finding Your Roots, has passed away. We've worked with Johni, one of the pioneering and most highly respected genealogists in the field, since we created the PBS series, Finding Your Roots, in which she traced the ancestry of such well-known African Americans as Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones in 2005. Since then, she has researched the genealogy of almost 200 guests, including Meryl Streep, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Tina Turner, Congressman John Lewis, Senator John McCain, Senator Bernie Sanders, Larry David, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Diddy, and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, among many others.
Johni's passion, dedication, originality and mastery of the tools of her craft have been at the heart of countless revelations for the guests in our series over the last fifteen years. Her passion for genealogy began at age 19 when she sought out the story of her own roots, eventually discovering the identity of her grandmother and father. Her lifelong love of the work inspired all of us who make Finding Your Roots, and she was always grateful to the viewers who make it possible for us to tell these stories. This calling, and all of the joy she brought to it, radiated throughout our show and was a key to the fulfillment of its promise to discover personal histories that liberate us from mistruths about our differences and foster a more human connection amongst us.
Thank you, Johni, for believing in our dream from the very beginning, and for doing so very much to make that dream a reality. We will miss you and we love you.
**********
And this information was sent by a dear friend of Johni,
Jonnette Elaine "Johni" Cerny was born 27 August 1943 in Kansas City, Missouri to Vivian Elaine (West) Cerny. She grew up in Missouri and California, graduating from Van Nuys High School in 1961.
Her first full-time job was as an operator at a message service company in Hollywood, California, which served many celebrities. On November 23, 1963, Johni received an urgent phone call from a well-known client. He knew she and the other operators were busy working and wanted them to know the news – Charlton Heston told Johni that President Kennedy had been assassinated.
Johni went on to study at the University of Missouri and Brigham Young University, earning bachelor's degrees in social work and genealogical research in 1969. She put her herself through college by working at salmon canneries in Alaska. During an outing with some friends visiting from Utah for a hunting trip, she was charged by a bear that chased her on to a boulder. As the bear started to climb the boulder, Johni shot it.
While pursuing a master's degree in library science, Johni was so bored during class that she and a friend walked out. They ran into a military recruiter on campus and signed up for the U.S. Army.
During her assignment overseeing the Army recruiting office in New Haven, Connecticut, she turned the worst-performing recruiting office in the country into the best. For that, she became a commissioned officer.
Johni served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1979 and inactive duty from 1979 to 1983, retiring with the rank of Captain. During her last tour in Germany, she served as the first female commander of a forward support unit.
Returning to civilian life, Johni pursued her passion, genealogy research, for four decades. During her long and storied career as a professional genealogist, Johni was considered one of the leading experts on African-American and slave research in the United States. Johni was also very active in the profession. She was a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association and was among the founding members of the Association for Professional Genealogists, serving as president and treasurer. She authored and edited several key publications and reference books, including The Library: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library and The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, and co-authored the twelve book series Before Germanna that document the origins of the families of the 1717 Germanna Colony in Virginia – Johni was a descendant of the Wilhite family.
For the last several years, Johni served as Chief Genealogist for the popular PBS television show Finding Your Roots hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (seasons 1 through 7), having previously worked for his series African American Lives I and II. Dr. Gates wrote of her that, "This calling, and all of the joy she brought to it, radiated throughout our show and was a key to the fulfillment of its promise to discover personal histories that liberate us from mistruths about our differences and foster a more human connection amongst us."
In her personal genealogy, with the advent of commercial DNA testing, Cerny was able to augment her family history efforts with her test results. This allowed her to fulfill her life-long goal to identify the biological parents of her maternal grandmother, Bertha Smith, who had been adopted. She also discovered that her own biological father was Charles Owen West and was finally able to document her paternal ancestors.
Besides the more personal and glamorous aspects of family history, Johni was also instrumental in several large population study projects. She oversaw the data collection to create several enormous databases -- essentially, giant family trees for entire states, including an ongoing national project for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. These important efforts will have positive impacts for many decades to come, helping geneticists and doctors research and better understand inherited predispositions for genetic conditions, which in turn will continue to improve screenings, early diagnoses, and medical care for millions of American veterans and the general public.
Johni is survived by five siblings, numerous other relatives, and many dear friends.
Contributor: Nick Sheedy (47571495)
It's with great sadness to share that Johni Cerny, our chief genealogist for Finding Your Roots, has passed away. We've worked with Johni, one of the pioneering and most highly respected genealogists in the field, since we created the PBS series, Finding Your Roots, in which she traced the ancestry of such well-known African Americans as Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones in 2005. Since then, she has researched the genealogy of almost 200 guests, including Meryl Streep, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Tina Turner, Congressman John Lewis, Senator John McCain, Senator Bernie Sanders, Larry David, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Diddy, and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, among many others.
Johni's passion, dedication, originality and mastery of the tools of her craft have been at the heart of countless revelations for the guests in our series over the last fifteen years. Her passion for genealogy began at age 19 when she sought out the story of her own roots, eventually discovering the identity of her grandmother and father. Her lifelong love of the work inspired all of us who make Finding Your Roots, and she was always grateful to the viewers who make it possible for us to tell these stories. This calling, and all of the joy she brought to it, radiated throughout our show and was a key to the fulfillment of its promise to discover personal histories that liberate us from mistruths about our differences and foster a more human connection amongst us.
Thank you, Johni, for believing in our dream from the very beginning, and for doing so very much to make that dream a reality. We will miss you and we love you.
**********
And this information was sent by a dear friend of Johni,
Jonnette Elaine "Johni" Cerny was born 27 August 1943 in Kansas City, Missouri to Vivian Elaine (West) Cerny. She grew up in Missouri and California, graduating from Van Nuys High School in 1961.
Her first full-time job was as an operator at a message service company in Hollywood, California, which served many celebrities. On November 23, 1963, Johni received an urgent phone call from a well-known client. He knew she and the other operators were busy working and wanted them to know the news – Charlton Heston told Johni that President Kennedy had been assassinated.
Johni went on to study at the University of Missouri and Brigham Young University, earning bachelor's degrees in social work and genealogical research in 1969. She put her herself through college by working at salmon canneries in Alaska. During an outing with some friends visiting from Utah for a hunting trip, she was charged by a bear that chased her on to a boulder. As the bear started to climb the boulder, Johni shot it.
While pursuing a master's degree in library science, Johni was so bored during class that she and a friend walked out. They ran into a military recruiter on campus and signed up for the U.S. Army.
During her assignment overseeing the Army recruiting office in New Haven, Connecticut, she turned the worst-performing recruiting office in the country into the best. For that, she became a commissioned officer.
Johni served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1979 and inactive duty from 1979 to 1983, retiring with the rank of Captain. During her last tour in Germany, she served as the first female commander of a forward support unit.
Returning to civilian life, Johni pursued her passion, genealogy research, for four decades. During her long and storied career as a professional genealogist, Johni was considered one of the leading experts on African-American and slave research in the United States. Johni was also very active in the profession. She was a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association and was among the founding members of the Association for Professional Genealogists, serving as president and treasurer. She authored and edited several key publications and reference books, including The Library: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library and The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, and co-authored the twelve book series Before Germanna that document the origins of the families of the 1717 Germanna Colony in Virginia – Johni was a descendant of the Wilhite family.
For the last several years, Johni served as Chief Genealogist for the popular PBS television show Finding Your Roots hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (seasons 1 through 7), having previously worked for his series African American Lives I and II. Dr. Gates wrote of her that, "This calling, and all of the joy she brought to it, radiated throughout our show and was a key to the fulfillment of its promise to discover personal histories that liberate us from mistruths about our differences and foster a more human connection amongst us."
In her personal genealogy, with the advent of commercial DNA testing, Cerny was able to augment her family history efforts with her test results. This allowed her to fulfill her life-long goal to identify the biological parents of her maternal grandmother, Bertha Smith, who had been adopted. She also discovered that her own biological father was Charles Owen West and was finally able to document her paternal ancestors.
Besides the more personal and glamorous aspects of family history, Johni was also instrumental in several large population study projects. She oversaw the data collection to create several enormous databases -- essentially, giant family trees for entire states, including an ongoing national project for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. These important efforts will have positive impacts for many decades to come, helping geneticists and doctors research and better understand inherited predispositions for genetic conditions, which in turn will continue to improve screenings, early diagnoses, and medical care for millions of American veterans and the general public.
Johni is survived by five siblings, numerous other relatives, and many dear friends.
Contributor: Nick Sheedy (47571495)
Posting by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
It's with great sadness to share that Johni Cerny, our chief genealogist for Finding Your Roots, has passed away. We've worked with Johni, one of the pioneering and most highly respected genealogists in the field, since we created the PBS series, Finding Your Roots, in which she traced the ancestry of such well-known African Americans as Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones in 2005. Since then, she has researched the genealogy of almost 200 guests, including Meryl Streep, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Tina Turner, Congressman John Lewis, Senator John McCain, Senator Bernie Sanders, Larry David, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Diddy, and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, among many others.
Johni's passion, dedication, originality and mastery of the tools of her craft have been at the heart of countless revelations for the guests in our series over the last fifteen years. Her passion for genealogy began at age 19 when she sought out the story of her own roots, eventually discovering the identity of her grandmother and father. Her lifelong love of the work inspired all of us who make Finding Your Roots, and she was always grateful to the viewers who make it possible for us to tell these stories. This calling, and all of the joy she brought to it, radiated throughout our show and was a key to the fulfillment of its promise to discover personal histories that liberate us from mistruths about our differences and foster a more human connection amongst us.
Thank you, Johni, for believing in our dream from the very beginning, and for doing so very much to make that dream a reality. We will miss you and we love you.
**********
And this information was sent by a dear friend of Johni,
Jonnette Elaine "Johni" Cerny was born 27 August 1943 in Kansas City, Missouri to Vivian Elaine (West) Cerny. She grew up in Missouri and California, graduating from Van Nuys High School in 1961.
Her first full-time job was as an operator at a message service company in Hollywood, California, which served many celebrities. On November 23, 1963, Johni received an urgent phone call from a well-known client. He knew she and the other operators were busy working and wanted them to know the news – Charlton Heston told Johni that President Kennedy had been assassinated.
Johni went on to study at the University of Missouri and Brigham Young University, earning bachelor's degrees in social work and genealogical research in 1969. She put her herself through college by working at salmon canneries in Alaska. During an outing with some friends visiting from Utah for a hunting trip, she was charged by a bear that chased her on to a boulder. As the bear started to climb the boulder, Johni shot it.
While pursuing a master's degree in library science, Johni was so bored during class that she and a friend walked out. They ran into a military recruiter on campus and signed up for the U.S. Army.
During her assignment overseeing the Army recruiting office in New Haven, Connecticut, she turned the worst-performing recruiting office in the country into the best. For that, she became a commissioned officer.
Johni served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1979 and inactive duty from 1979 to 1983, retiring with the rank of Captain. During her last tour in Germany, she served as the first female commander of a forward support unit.
Returning to civilian life, Johni pursued her passion, genealogy research, for four decades. During her long and storied career as a professional genealogist, Johni was considered one of the leading experts on African-American and slave research in the United States. Johni was also very active in the profession. She was a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association and was among the founding members of the Association for Professional Genealogists, serving as president and treasurer. She authored and edited several key publications and reference books, including The Library: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library and The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, and co-authored the twelve book series Before Germanna that document the origins of the families of the 1717 Germanna Colony in Virginia – Johni was a descendant of the Wilhite family.
For the last several years, Johni served as Chief Genealogist for the popular PBS television show Finding Your Roots hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (seasons 1 through 7), having previously worked for his series African American Lives I and II. Dr. Gates wrote of her that, "This calling, and all of the joy she brought to it, radiated throughout our show and was a key to the fulfillment of its promise to discover personal histories that liberate us from mistruths about our differences and foster a more human connection amongst us."
In her personal genealogy, with the advent of commercial DNA testing, Cerny was able to augment her family history efforts with her test results. This allowed her to fulfill her life-long goal to identify the biological parents of her maternal grandmother, Bertha Smith, who had been adopted. She also discovered that her own biological father was Charles Owen West and was finally able to document her paternal ancestors.
Besides the more personal and glamorous aspects of family history, Johni was also instrumental in several large population study projects. She oversaw the data collection to create several enormous databases -- essentially, giant family trees for entire states, including an ongoing national project for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. These important efforts will have positive impacts for many decades to come, helping geneticists and doctors research and better understand inherited predispositions for genetic conditions, which in turn will continue to improve screenings, early diagnoses, and medical care for millions of American veterans and the general public.
Johni is survived by five siblings, numerous other relatives, and many dear friends.
Contributor: Nick Sheedy (47571495)
It's with great sadness to share that Johni Cerny, our chief genealogist for Finding Your Roots, has passed away. We've worked with Johni, one of the pioneering and most highly respected genealogists in the field, since we created the PBS series, Finding Your Roots, in which she traced the ancestry of such well-known African Americans as Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones in 2005. Since then, she has researched the genealogy of almost 200 guests, including Meryl Streep, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Tina Turner, Congressman John Lewis, Senator John McCain, Senator Bernie Sanders, Larry David, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Diddy, and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, among many others.
Johni's passion, dedication, originality and mastery of the tools of her craft have been at the heart of countless revelations for the guests in our series over the last fifteen years. Her passion for genealogy began at age 19 when she sought out the story of her own roots, eventually discovering the identity of her grandmother and father. Her lifelong love of the work inspired all of us who make Finding Your Roots, and she was always grateful to the viewers who make it possible for us to tell these stories. This calling, and all of the joy she brought to it, radiated throughout our show and was a key to the fulfillment of its promise to discover personal histories that liberate us from mistruths about our differences and foster a more human connection amongst us.
Thank you, Johni, for believing in our dream from the very beginning, and for doing so very much to make that dream a reality. We will miss you and we love you.
**********
And this information was sent by a dear friend of Johni,
Jonnette Elaine "Johni" Cerny was born 27 August 1943 in Kansas City, Missouri to Vivian Elaine (West) Cerny. She grew up in Missouri and California, graduating from Van Nuys High School in 1961.
Her first full-time job was as an operator at a message service company in Hollywood, California, which served many celebrities. On November 23, 1963, Johni received an urgent phone call from a well-known client. He knew she and the other operators were busy working and wanted them to know the news – Charlton Heston told Johni that President Kennedy had been assassinated.
Johni went on to study at the University of Missouri and Brigham Young University, earning bachelor's degrees in social work and genealogical research in 1969. She put her herself through college by working at salmon canneries in Alaska. During an outing with some friends visiting from Utah for a hunting trip, she was charged by a bear that chased her on to a boulder. As the bear started to climb the boulder, Johni shot it.
While pursuing a master's degree in library science, Johni was so bored during class that she and a friend walked out. They ran into a military recruiter on campus and signed up for the U.S. Army.
During her assignment overseeing the Army recruiting office in New Haven, Connecticut, she turned the worst-performing recruiting office in the country into the best. For that, she became a commissioned officer.
Johni served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1979 and inactive duty from 1979 to 1983, retiring with the rank of Captain. During her last tour in Germany, she served as the first female commander of a forward support unit.
Returning to civilian life, Johni pursued her passion, genealogy research, for four decades. During her long and storied career as a professional genealogist, Johni was considered one of the leading experts on African-American and slave research in the United States. Johni was also very active in the profession. She was a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association and was among the founding members of the Association for Professional Genealogists, serving as president and treasurer. She authored and edited several key publications and reference books, including The Library: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library and The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, and co-authored the twelve book series Before Germanna that document the origins of the families of the 1717 Germanna Colony in Virginia – Johni was a descendant of the Wilhite family.
For the last several years, Johni served as Chief Genealogist for the popular PBS television show Finding Your Roots hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (seasons 1 through 7), having previously worked for his series African American Lives I and II. Dr. Gates wrote of her that, "This calling, and all of the joy she brought to it, radiated throughout our show and was a key to the fulfillment of its promise to discover personal histories that liberate us from mistruths about our differences and foster a more human connection amongst us."
In her personal genealogy, with the advent of commercial DNA testing, Cerny was able to augment her family history efforts with her test results. This allowed her to fulfill her life-long goal to identify the biological parents of her maternal grandmother, Bertha Smith, who had been adopted. She also discovered that her own biological father was Charles Owen West and was finally able to document her paternal ancestors.
Besides the more personal and glamorous aspects of family history, Johni was also instrumental in several large population study projects. She oversaw the data collection to create several enormous databases -- essentially, giant family trees for entire states, including an ongoing national project for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. These important efforts will have positive impacts for many decades to come, helping geneticists and doctors research and better understand inherited predispositions for genetic conditions, which in turn will continue to improve screenings, early diagnoses, and medical care for millions of American veterans and the general public.
Johni is survived by five siblings, numerous other relatives, and many dear friends.
Contributor: Nick Sheedy (47571495)
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