The Bridgeport community is remembering an icon who left her mark on the city and the state of Connecticut.

A prayer service was held Sunday morning at East End Tabernacle Baptist Church for Geraldine Johnson, who passed away Saturday at age 96.

Johnson grew up in the East End of Bridgeport. She was the city's first African-American school superintendent, and is being remembered as a tireless reformer.

Although Johnson was not a parishioner at the Tabernacle Baptist Church, she was well-known to churchgoers of all generations. Mayor-elect Joe Ganim said her first love was teaching, and that he was proud to have worked with her.

"You can't be a part of this city without knowing and feeling and being a part of her legacy," he said

Residents say Johnson was somebody who wanted to be remembered for advancing the cause of women, people of color and of humanity in general.