T-R FILE PHOTO - In this Dec. 23, 2014, file photo, Jerry Johnson poses on the 18th green at Elmwood Country Club one week before retiring from his post as the club professional. Johnson was the Elmwood club pro for 29 years. He passed away Friday at the age of 70.

Jerry Johnson was so dedicated to promoting the game of golf that two years after he retired as the PGA Professional at Elmwood Country Club, he was honored with the PGA’s Horton Smith Award.

An award designed to give special recognition to an individual PGA Professional for outstanding and continuing contributions to professional education, Johnson remained as much a part of golf in Iowa even after he and his wife Deb stopped punching the clock at Elmwood as he did before stepping away from his official post on Dec. 31, 2014.

It’s a safe bet that, even now that he’s gone, Johnson’s legacy both locally and statewide will continue to make a positive impact toward growing the game of golf.

Jerry Johnson passed away on Friday at the age of 70, having fought cancer for 17 years while having loved golf for virtually all of his years. He worked at Elmwood Country Club for 29 years before retiring, having achieved Life Membership status in the PGA of America.

Two years after his retirement, Johnson was the recipient of an award that recognizes the PGA Professional who is the model educator of PGA Golf Professionals.

For those who knew Jerry best, it wasn’t a surprise at all.

“I am devastated to learn of my dear friend, Jerry, passing,” said Robert Denney, PGA Historian Emeritus at the PGA of America. “God rest his wonderful soul and give comfort to his family and dear wife, Deb. Jerry epitomized the best of friendship, the ultimate PGA Professional and gave back to so many.”

John Schrempf, who worked under Johnson for four years at Elmwood before eventually taking over as the club pro at the American Legion Memorial Golf Course, credited everything he was professionally to Johnson’s tutelage from 1989-1993.

“Jerry taught me so much in those four years that I could have started then and I never could have repaid him,” Schrempf said. “Jerry was the ultimate golf professional. He cared so much about everything being perfect for the Elmwood members that it often kept us there late or arriving at 5 a.m. for that 8 a.m. shotgun.

“I really have never met a person that didn’t have the utmost respect for him. He loved being a golf professional and he loved helping people. But more than anything he loved his family and for that matter everyone else’s. The outpouring from just the young people from Marshalltown and the surrounding areas is amazing.”

Johnson was a four-sport letterman at Marshalltown High School, competing in football, basketball, baseball and golf before graduating in 1968. He attended Eastern New Mexico University and golfed for the Greyhounds before transferring to the University of Iowa, where he continued his playing career before graduating in 1972.

He and Deb were married in May of 1973 and had two daughters, Kate and Erin. Grandsons Daniel and Jude got a lot of the Johnsons’ attention upon their retirement in 2014.

Teaching kids the game of golf was one of Jerry’s most well-known passions. He spent a lot of his time giving lessons, coordinating youth events, teaching local high school golf teams as well as physical education classes. He helped to implement the Swings with Kids program in Marshalltown schools.

Annie Dull, a 2009 MHS graduate and former Bobcat golfer, posted her appreciation for Johnson’s impact on her life on her Facebook page.

“Big Sky, Jerr Bear, Jerry you were an incredible man, coach, husband and father,” she wrote. “From my golf coach to my first boss you have always been someone to look up to and admire. You and your smile will be missed!”

Johnson was named the Golf Professional of the Year in 1990 by the Iowa Golf Association, and he also was anointed the Iowa PGA Merchandiser of the Year that same season. He held the office of President of the Iowa PGA from 1991-1993 and was voted by his peers in 1992 as the Iowa Section PGA Professional of the Year.

Johnson will be laid to rest Wednesday morning in a private, family service at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens, but his impact on the game of golf will live on through the many whose lives and love for the sport were nurtured by him.

“He cared a lot about his community and promoted golf to all ages,” said Dave Adland, a local businessman. “He (and his wife Deb) left a legacy of sportsmanship, competition and a high degree of social excellence while at Elmwood. His loss is felt by many here in Marshalltown and by many outside our community.”