Unless you are her mom, you call Deann Johnson by her initials, “D.J.”

That has been her name since grade school. It was her name as she earned All-State honors on the hardwood at Butte High School. It is what she was called when she was the Frontier Conference MVP as a senior at Montana Tech.

A physical therapist with St. James Healthcare, D.J. has also been a member of the Montana Officials Association, refereeing basketball for in the Butte pool for the better part of two decades.

Click here to listen in as D.J. discusses her playing days, the call to the Butte Sports Hall of Fame, undergoing open-heart surgery at the age of 14 and her rewarding job helping people on the road to recovery.