Obituaries

Barbara S. Johnson, 73, passed away March 26, 2019. Memorial service will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at Taylortown AME Zion Church, 10901 Ballardsville Road. In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to the Taylortown AME Zion Church.

Barbara Ann Johnson nee Scruggs was born in New Liberty, Kentucky on May 16, 1945 to Earnest Scruggs and Lou Ellis Scruggs nee Brown. On the morning of March 26, 2019 while sleeping peacefully God called her home.

As a small child Barbara was always passionate about serving God. At an early age she eagerly accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior at New Liberty Baptist Church where she was baptized. As an adult she would go on to attend 1st Congressional Methodist Church in Louisville Kentucky but she found her church home at Taylortown A.M.E. Zion Church in Louisville, KY. It was there that she served God and the community with great devotion. She took great pride in the works she did at the church serving as a delegate to the many conferences the A.M.E. church hosted and Board of Trustees.

Barbara graduated from Owen County High School in 1963. From there she went on to attend HBCU Kentucky State University where she met her former husband Eugene Johnson. In 1966 they married and in 1969 had one daughter, Sheree Renee Powers nee Johnson. Later she obtained her Associate Degree in Applied Sciences from JCC in 1978. She used her education to become a social worker for the state of Kentucky. As a tenured employee she held many positions over the years 36 years she was employed, however her most beloved position was as At-Large Representative of the Advisory Council for Employees of the state of Kentucky.

She was a history enthusiast and before there was Ancestory.com. Barbara would comb through archives of public records spending countless hours at the Library researching her family lineage. She also was an avid reader of anything regarding the Kennedy family, the Vietnam Conflict and current events-daily reading multiple newspapers from around the state. Later as her retirement approached she became very active with work regarding Vietnam Veterans and the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. While she did greatly appreciate Presidents Kennedy and Clinton she was most proud that Barack Obama became the 1st black President.

Her father, Earnest Scruggs, preceded her in death however Barbara is survived by Sheree Powers (daughter), Lou Ellis Scruggs (mother), George Robert Scruggs (brother), Gwendolyn Scruggs (sister), William Henry Scruggs (brother) Earnest Scruggs Jr. (brother), Paige Mac Kenzie Bennett (granddaughter), Pearson Powers (grandson) and Thomas Bennett (grandson-in-law).