Romanza Johnson, whose decades of volunteer service in the community touched dozens of organizations and thousands of Bowling Green residents, died Wednesday evening at age 85.

A native of Scottsville and graduate of Western Kentucky University, Johnson’s involvement in a number of nonprofit organizations and other worthy causes has left a lasting imprint on the community.

“Bowling Green lost a very distinguished member of the community with the passing of Romanza Johnson,” the city of Bowling Green said in an official statement. “She dedicated her life to public service and leaves behind a tremendous legacy. Among her many achievements, she assisted in the founding of the Houchens Center for Women, the Rape Crisis Center and Hospice of Southern Kentucky. She served on multiple boards, taught Sunday School classes and touched hundreds of lives here through her volunteerism and philanthropy. She was a respected beacon of service and will be greatly missed.”

Johnson taught at WKU before joining Bowling Green Municipal Utilities as a home economist.

Johnson had a hand in creating Hospice of Southern Kentucky and had most recently served as the advisor to the organization’s chairman of the board of directors.

Over her life, Johnson served on numerous boards of civic organizations and nonprofit agencies, leaving her mark in a number of ways, whether through visiting schools to give presentations, speaking at community engagements or raising funds for special events.

Kids on the Block, Salvation Army, Bowling Green-Warren County Welfare Board, the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, the Dream Factory and Riverview at Hobson Grove were among the organizations that benefited from Johnson’s efforts.

“I think we have a community that honors service before self and Romanza Johnson was the epitome, where her entire career was about others,” Warren County Judge-Executive Doug Gorman said. “I would hope, if anything, her legacy would inspire younger generations to understand that to have the community you want you have to serve others, and she was the best at it.”

The WKU Alumni Association awarded Johnson with its Distinguished Service Medal in 2003.

She was also the inaugural recipient of the ATHENA Award from the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, a leadership award bestowed on those who have achieved the highest level of professional excellence, contributed their time and energy to bettering the quality of life for those in their communities and worked to assist others, particularly women, in realizing their leadership potential.

“She was a fantastic mentor to hundreds of women,” said Gorman, who previously chaired the board of directors for the chamber.

“Romanza Johnson exemplifies what it means to live a life of purpose, passion and service,” Chamber of Commerce CEO Ron Bunch said in a statement. “Her legacy enriches us all, and we are grateful for the countless ways she has helped make our community a better place.”

Bunch’s statement said that Johnson was a charter member of the Chamber’s Ambassadors Club, serving numerous leadership roles within that organization and receiving the Ambassadors Volunteer Award four times.

Johnson set an example as a “lifelong advocate for education, community service and civic engagement,” Bunch said.

Johnson herself said that she came across her penchant for volunteerism and philanthropy at an early age.

“My mother was very civic-minded, I guess it rubbed off,” Johnson told the Daily News in 2023. “When I would see a need, I would try to help if I could.”