Violet B. Johnson, public relations executive

Violet Branch Johnson, 94, a retired public relations executive, died Jan. 20 of complications from a stroke at Stapeley, a retirement residence in Germantown.

Mrs. Johnson grew up in South Philadelphia and graduated from West Philadelphia High School. She earned an associate degree from Temple University.

At 13, she joined the Girls' Friendly Society, a social and service organization affiliated with the Episcopal Church. She remained involved with the organization for the next 50 years, singing in its choir and later organizing concerts and mentoring younger members.

Since 1985, Mrs. Johnson had been a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Germantown, and before that had been a 57-year member of St. Simon the Cyrenian Episcopal Church in South Philadelphia, where she provided piano accompaniment and was a teacher for the Sunday school and head of the choir guild.

As a teenager, she helped out in the church office and eventually became the church secretary. In the 1940s, she was an office worker at the former Frederick Douglass Hospital in Philadelphia.

Her son, Nathaniel, said that in 1948, his mother became the first African American woman hired by Blue Cross in Philadelphia, where she processed claims and eventually became a supervisor. Besides her administrative duties, she represented Blue Cross at events in the black community.

In 1969, Mrs. Johnson joined Mark Hyman Associates, a public relations and marketing firm. As an account executive and partner with the firm, she brokered contracts with local corporations to extend their presence in the African American community, her son said. She also represented her corporate clients at career fairs for black students.

While with the firm, she took courses at the Charles Price School of Advertising and Journalism in Philadelphia and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She retired in 1995.

Mrs. Johnson was an officer and committee member with the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs. In 1973, she was a founding member of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, which became the founding chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists in 1975.

A classically trained pianist, Mrs. Johnson was a member of the Philadelphia Committee of Opera North.

She participated in numerous fashion shows, often modeling stylish ensembles she made, said her son, who likened his mother to the elegant actress Loretta Young.

For more than 60 years, before moving to Stapeley in 2005, Mrs. Johnson was block captain of the 3900 block of Smedley Street. She initiated protests against the increased number of bars in the community, organized annual events and trips, and sought to expand cultural opportunities for her neighbors, her son said.

She also was past president of the Tioga-Nicetown Civic League. In the 1950s, she helped establish the Hunting Park Baseball League.

In addition to her son, Mrs. Johnson is survived by three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Her former husband, Lucius J. Johnson Jr., preceded her in death.

Services were private.