Jo Ann Marshall

Jo Ann Marshall, aged 95, of San Diego, California, passed away peacefully on April 14, 2024 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Raised in the central Ohio farm town of Richwood (Union County), Jo Ann was the younger of two daughters born to Warren Neal Kyle and Margaret (Winter) Kyle. On the death of their father in 1936, Jo Ann and sister Betty Lou moved-in with their maternal grandparents, Lloyd Winter and Mina (Cratty) Winter. Jo Ann often helped her grandfather at the family mortuary, and due to his blindness, learned to drive the town hearse at age 12. Jo Ann’s fond memories of her Richwood childhood included soda fountain treats at her paternal grandparents’ drugstore (Homer Kyle and Ila (Neal) Kyle), cooling-off with friends on summer days at the town pond (“The Pit”), family gatherings in their underground party hideaway (“The Dugout”), riding in the big black car of her banker uncle, Kenny Kyle (with revolver at his side) to collect receipts from fairground vendors, horse-drawn sleigh rides through the snowy woods and fields around town, and waving to troop trains as they passed through during the War. She also enjoyed summer trips to Chicago to visit her big city cousin, “Aunt” Vera (Cratty) Ross.

After graduating from Richwood High school in 1946, Jo Ann moved to Toledo, Ohio, to live with her mother. There, she worked as a phone operator for the Toledo Gas Company, where she befriended Joyce Marshall, her future sister-in-law. Joyce introduced Jo Ann to her brother, Ken Marshall, an Ensign in the U.S. Navy, who was home on leave from Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia. Ken, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, had recently moved to Toledo with his siblings and parents. Jo Ann, Ken, Joyce, and Joyce’s future husband Bill Dowell began to double date, with memorable misadventures, going to the shores of Lake Erie, and to horse races and strip bars in Detroit. Ken and Jo Ann were married in Toledo on April 24, 1948. Their first son, Tom, was born in Toledo in 1951. The Marshalls moved to Arizona in 1953, and their daughter, Sherri, was born in Tucson in 1955. The family moved to California in 1956, and eventually settled in the San Diego community of Allied Gardens. Their youngest son, Jeff, was born there in 1961.

Over the years, Jo Ann was a devoted mother and housewife, creating a loving home for the entire family. She was a consummate hostess, baker, and seamstress. Holiday meals and late-night card games at the Marshall’s house were always festive events. Her chocolate chip cookies and pan-popped popcorn were admired far and near. With the familiar whir of that Singer sewing machine, she created much of her family’s clothing, passing that rural Ohio tradition on to her daughter, Sherri. In her Allied Gardens community, Jo Ann was involved in PTA, hosted Tupperware Parties, and volunteered at the Little League snack stand. She earned extra money for the family as a clerk at a local Hallmark shop, a phone solicitor for Purple Heart Veterans, and an office Assistant for Liberty Mutual Insurance. In later years, Jo Ann became engaged with the San Diego Historical Society, helping exhibit historic showcase homes, and serving as President of the Villa Montezuma Auxiliary. She also volunteered as a thrift store clerk for the Assistance League. In retirement, Ken and Jo Ann took up country-western dancing, and along with family friends, Bruce and Allie Blauvelt, became regulars on the dance floor at the Circle D and the Wrangler’s Roost, kicking up their heels to Slappin’ Leather, the Boot Scootin’ Boogie, and that ever-graceful barroom glide, the Cowboy Two-Step. Jo Ann was an avid traveler, and along with Ken, her family, and later with her pal Pat Edwards, she visited all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, a dozen or more European countries, Greece and the islands, Egypt, the Holy Land, and the Caribbean.

Throughout her life, Jo Ann was a dedicated caregiver to elderly relatives, including her Aunt Vera, mother Margaret Lapp (“Mom”), and her own husband Ken, who died of cancer in 1994. All through this time, Jo Ann was deeply involved in life at Allied Garden’s Palisades Presbyterian Church, where she served in many capacities, including Deacon and Church Elder. On the death of her daughter Sherri in 1991, she was inspired to create a memorial garden and outdoor worship space at the church. Through her tireless efforts, this vision became a reality in 2005, with the creation of “The Point” amphitheater and gardens at Palisades church.

Jo Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth G. Marshall, daughter, Sherri Ann Marshall-Bonneaud, and sister Betty Lou Mowery. She is survived by her sons, Rev. Dr. Thomas C. Marshall and Dr. Jeffrey S. Marshall, four grandchildren, Kevin Hoffman, Sarah Bonneaud-Sawyer, Eliza Bonneaud-Black, and Kyle Marshall, and 6 great-grandchildren: Brendan, Ciaran, Cailin, Ewen, Samantha, and Sylvia.

Jo Ann’s ashes will be placed alongside those of her beloved husband at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on Point Loma, San Diego.

If you wish to send flowers for her May 26 memorial, please contact Dave’s Flower Box (619) 298-7247.

You may view an obituary and contribute thoughts and memories to the guestbook at featheringillmortuary.com