Janet R. Johnson, who became the first African-American faculty member of Jacksonville University in 1971, died at her home Wednesday morning of natural causes. She was 79.
Johnson is credited for helping hundreds and hundreds of first-generation college students achieve their dreams of academic and professional success.
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She chaired and served on numerous local, state and national boards and was a former president of the Jacksonville YWCA, not called Community Connections.
She was the widow of civil rights attorney Earl M. Johnson, who represented Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his marches in St. Augustine in the mid 1960s.
Johnson is survived by her children, Dr. Robin M. Johnson, Earl M. Johnson Jr, Peri Lynne Johnson and Nelson R. Johnson.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made to the Janet R. Johnson Scholarship Fund at Jacksonville University. Contact Jan Bender at JU's Office of Institutional Advancement, 904-356-7195.