Yvonne Johnson, Gulfport's First Female Mayor, Dies at 98

An older woman smiling at the camera — Yvonne Johnson, Gulfport’s first female mayor, is remembered for her lifelong dedication to the city she called home. She died Sept. 18 at 98.
*Photo courtesy of Bob Ponder*

Long after Yvonne Johnson left elected office, she kept showing up for Gulfport.

Agnes Yvonne Johnson, Gulfport’s first female mayor, died Sept. 18 at 98. Known to friends and neighbors as Yvonne, she leaves a legacy that stretches from local government to the everyday work of staying involved in her community.

A Life of Service

Johnson was born May 31, 1928, in Gainesville and raised in Melrose, Florida. After graduating from Melrose High School in 1946, she worked as a telephone operator in Gainesville, where she met James Frederick “Johnny” Johnson. The couple married in 1947, lived in St. Petersburg, and moved to Gulfport in 1951. Johnny died in 1999.

In Gulfport, Johnson became a leader in the Parent Teacher Association. She served as president of an elementary school PTA, a junior high PTA, and the Pinellas County PTA, and as a district president representing seven counties.

In 1972, she signed up to run for City Council the day before candidate qualifying closed. She told The Gabber Newspaper in 2024 that neighbors had been urging her to run, and that she won with the most votes of any candidate up to that point. At her first meeting, she cast the tie-breaking vote allowing a Town Shores development to proceed, reasoning that the city could not promise something and then deny it the next day. People warned her they would never vote for her again, she recalled.

She served on Gulfport City Council from 1972 to 1987, including as mayor from 1985 to 1987. In 1976, while representing Ward IV, she chaired the city’s Bicentennial Committee.

People standing in an archive photo — Yvonne Johnson (far right) at the dedication of the L.T. McCarthy Fire Administration Building.
*Via the Gulfport History Museum*

two people in a yellow car with a sign that reads "City Manager" — Yvonne Johnson and Harry Perkins in the Citizens Parade in 1976.
*Photo courtesy of the Gulfport History Museum*

A Steady Presence

For those who knew her, her resume tells only part of the story.

“She was absolutely just a very kind person and a very considerate person, but she was no pushover,” former Mayor Sam Henderson said.

That toughness showed early in her time as mayor. When someone was being disruptive at her first meeting, Johnson had the person escorted out.

“I’m not one to sit and be degraded,” she told The Gabber Newspaper in 2024.

Henderson first met Johnson during his first year on City Council. He recalled her telling him that opposition would come with the job, but that he would have to make decisions he could live with.

Every time they met afterward, Henderson said, Johnson remembered him and was happy to talk. He and his wife, Laura, especially enjoyed joining her for the sing-along at Gulfport’s holiday tree lighting. Johnson loved to sing, and even as her health declined, she made a point of attending.

“I think she really did have a lifelong commitment to the city of Gulfport,” Henderson said.

three people singing. — Former Mayor Sam Henderson, Laura Henderson, and former mayor Yvonne Johnson joined the City’s after-school and Tot Time children for a holiday chorus in December 2024.
*Photo by Cathy Salustri*

Shaping the Community

City Manager Jim O’Reilly, who knew Johnson for more than 50 years, remembered that commitment across many parts of community life, including the volunteer fire department’s auxiliary. He credited her with helping bring Gulfport into the Pinellas County library cooperative during its initial years, an accomplishment he hopes residents remember.

“Just very astute about what’s good for the community,” he said.

Her willingness to speak plainly was equally familiar to friends outside City Hall.

Dawn Fisher met Johnson at Gulfport Presbyterian Church during a Thanksgiving potluck around 2013. Fisher and her family had arrived as newcomers to the church, without a dish to contribute, and were invited to stay. Over time, their friendship grew through church activities, dinners, and conversations. Johnson often shared stories about her years in local government.

Woman sitting on a bench — Yvonne Johnson at the dedication of Gulfport’s Clymer Park.
*Gulfport History Museum*

Fisher described her as “spicy.”

“She would not pull any punches and she would say things exactly the way they were,” Fisher said.

Johnson helped build Gulfport Presbyterian Church and served as secretary of the church board, carrying a deep knowledge of the congregation’s history. When the church closed in 2022 after 75 years, Johnson, then 93, held her last meeting as clerk of session.

“She was the brain of the church,” Fisher said.

Passing the Torch

For Gulfport Mayor Karen Love, Johnson offered a personal connection to the history Love hoped to continue.

Before running for office, Love knocked on Johnson’s door and introduced herself. She told Johnson she intended to become Gulfport’s second female mayor. Johnson welcomed her inside and responded with a warm laugh.

“She neither endorsed nor discouraged me; she was just very warm and friendly — and not political,” Mayor Love said.

Love later began leaving handwritten notes in Johnson’s mailbox, sharing updates, and keeping in touch. When Love won, Johnson, then 96, attended her April 1, 2025, swearing-in, which came at the first meeting of the city’s first all-female council.

a woman smiling in her seat at a crowded council meeting. — Gulfport’s first female mayor Yvonne Johnson sat front row at the April 1, 2025 Gulfport City Council meeting.
*Photo by Cameron Healy*

This July, Johnson’s reach across the years became literal. When the city opened its 1976 bicentennial time capsule, one package was addressed to whoever served as mayor in 2026. At the July 7 Council meeting, Love opened it and found a pen set and a handwritten note from Johnson, who chaired the Bicentennial Committee that year. The pen sets had been given to those who planned J.B. Clymer Park, and Johnson wrote that the committee wanted the future mayor to have one, too.

“We hope this area is as lovely in 2026 as it is in 1976,” she wrote.

Love tried the pen to see whether the ink had survived 50 years. It still wrote.

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Yvonne Johnson, Gulfport’s First Female Mayor, Dies at 98

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