Jo Anne Youngblood Bowers, age 88, formally of Darlington, passed away Sunday, February 2, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. A graveside service will be held 1:00 p.m. Sunday, February 23rd at Grove Hill Cemetery, directed by Belk Funeral Home.
Jo Anne was born in Macon, Georgia, on May 21, 1931. She was the daughter of the late George R. Youngblood and Annice Marie Sumner.
Jo Anne completed a nursing degree at Georgia Baptist School of Nursing and became a registered nurse. She and Mitchell “Mike” Lee Bowers met at church in Albany, where Jo Anne was a nurse in a local hospital and Mike was in the Air Force stationed at Turner Air Base. Jo Anne and Mike married in Albany on September 11, 1955. The marriage produced two children: John Mitchell Bowers and Angela Gwen Bowers Beck. During Mike’s long career as a senior mechanical engineer for ALCOA, he and Jo Anne lived in North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Meanwhile, Jo Anne worked as an RN in a number of settings—hospitals, doctor’s offices, nursing homes, and hospice care—in addition to serving the family as a homemaker. Mike and Jo Anne retired in Darlington, South Carolina, in 1993. Mike passed away in 2002. They were married for 47 years.
Jo Anne was a talented artist, attending the Cleveland Institute of Art when she retired as a nurse. She sold many paintings over the years, receiving commissions for portraits, landscapes, and still-life works. She won prizes at juried art shows and taught art classes for adults. Jo Anne also loved studying and teaching the Bible. She taught Sunday school all of her adult life, spending the last 10 years working in women’s ministry in various roles. During her lifetime, she had the opportunity to lead hundreds of men, women, and children to Christ, especially while ministering each summer at county fairgrounds across Ohio.
Jo Anne is survived by her son John and daughter-in-law Kathy of Orlando, Florida, who cared for Jo Anne in their home in her final years. She is survived by her daughter Angela and son-in-law Clayton of Brussels, Belgium. Jo Anne had five grandchildren: Adam (and wife Dayna), Kristine (and husband Michael), Austin (and wife Nicole), Audrey, and Ethan. She had five great-grandchildren: Lucas, Christopher, Nathan, Morgan, and Emery. Jo Anne is also survived by a brother-in-law, sister-in-law, as well as nieces, nephews, and cousins.
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