The Children’s Fund trustee passed away on June 28.
By Tony Knoderer
Brenda Leigh Johnson, a member of the Kiwanis Children’s Fund Board of Trustees, passed away on June 28. She was 63. A member of the Kiwanis Club of Elmira, New York, U.S., Johnson had been a Children’s Fund trustee since October 2022.
She became a Kiwanis member in 2008, when she joined the Kiwanis Club of Huntington in New York. She eventually served the New York District as lieutenant governor from 2014-16 and as governor in 2020-21. Johnson was recognized as the club’s Kiwanian of the Year in 2011 and achieved Kiwanis International Life Member status in 2014.
Johnson was also a generous donor to the Children’s Fund, including membership in the Kiwanis Children’s Fund Founders Circle. She was also a Major Gift donor to The Eliminate Project and a Presidential Walter Zeller Fellow.
“The Kiwanis Children’s Fund Board has suffered a great loss with the passing of our esteemed colleague, Brenda Leigh Johnson,” says Amy Zimmerman, 2023-24 Kiwanis Children’s Fund president. “Her remarkable leadership, strategic vision and tireless efforts to better the world will be greatly missed. And most of all her friendship. I offer my sincerest condolences to her family and the Kiwanis family.”
Prior to retirement, Johnson worked with Dale Carnegie and Associates, a professional development training organization. She is survived by her husband, Peter — also a member of the Kiwanis Club of Elmira — and their son.