In Memory of
Jo Catherine Thomas
December 3, 1939 - June 24, 2017
Obituary
Jo Catherine Nelson Thomas was born December 3, 1939 in Fremont, Nebraska to Vernon Grover Nelson and Shirley Mae Pfeiffer Nelson. Jo passed away peacefully surrounded by family and loved ones at her home in Placerville, California on June 24, 2017.
Jo had fond memories of living with her paternal grandparents, an aunt and an uncle in Hooper, Nebraska, while her father served in the Army during WWII. Jo attended Wasmer and Trinity Lutheran Schools in Grand Island, Nebraska, before moving to Fullerton, California with her father, stepmother and sister, Jerre, in 1954.
After graduating from Fullerton Union High School in June 1957, Jo married Carroll Alonzo Thomas on August 30, 1957 in Fullerton. Children from this union are Kevin Alonzo Thomas and David Scott Thomas.
After gaining bookkeeping experience while working for her father at Bellflower Motor Parts, Jo was hired by First Western Bank as a switchboard operator initially. Within a few weeks she became a teller, then a bookkeeper and ended her 8 year career at the bank as secretary to the bank manager. Her next job was at the local Ford agency until she was recruited by King Kelly Marmalade Co. where she worked for 25 years as office manager, notary public and corporate secretary until her retirement in 1994.
Jo was also involved with scouting, Little League, Newcomers Club, line dancing, and donated innumerable hours volunteering for Civil Air Patrol, Friends of the Library, Christian Women's Club, Swansboro Country Property Owners Association, Mosquito Volunteer Fire Association and Experimental Aircraft Association.
Her passion in retirement turned out to be genealogy, which played a big part in recent years when traveling with her longtime companion, Fred. They didn't take a lot of trips but the RV trips they did take lasted from 6 weeks to 6 months, the most memorable being in 2008 when they spent the summer in Alaska. Fred saw to it that Jo returned to Nebraska several times after a 30 year absence and to many other states she had never been to.
Jo is survived by her sons Kevin and David; longtime companion Frederick Wilder; sister Jerre (Tom) Brookshire; stepmothers Lorraine Nelson Edelson and Charlene Nelson; granddaughter Sarah Danielle Thomas; great grandson Jason; step-sisters Paula Burditt and Betsy Gersch; brother-in-law Arnold (Joan) Thomas; sisters-in-law Nila (Joseph) Campbell and Naomi Withey. She was preceded in death by her husband Carroll in 2000; her father Vernon; her brother Philip Vernon Nelson; step-sister Barbara Scott in 2006; and mother Shirley in 2013.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, June 29, 2017, 10:30 a.m. at Chapel of the Pines Funeral Home, 2855 Cold Springs Rd., Placerville, CA. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make a memorial donation to Snowline Hospice, 6520 Pleasant Valley Rd., Diamond Springs, CA 95619.
Jo Catherine Thomas
December 3, 1939 - June 24, 2017
Obituary
Jo Catherine Nelson Thomas was born December 3, 1939 in Fremont, Nebraska to Vernon Grover Nelson and Shirley Mae Pfeiffer Nelson. Jo passed away peacefully surrounded by family and loved ones at her home in Placerville, California on June 24, 2017.
Jo had fond memories of living with her paternal grandparents, an aunt and an uncle in Hooper, Nebraska, while her father served in the Army during WWII. Jo attended Wasmer and Trinity Lutheran Schools in Grand Island, Nebraska, before moving to Fullerton, California with her father, stepmother and sister, Jerre, in 1954.
After graduating from Fullerton Union High School in June 1957, Jo married Carroll Alonzo Thomas on August 30, 1957 in Fullerton. Children from this union are Kevin Alonzo Thomas and David Scott Thomas.
After gaining bookkeeping experience while working for her father at Bellflower Motor Parts, Jo was hired by First Western Bank as a switchboard operator initially. Within a few weeks she became a teller, then a bookkeeper and ended her 8 year career at the bank as secretary to the bank manager. Her next job was at the local Ford agency until she was recruited by King Kelly Marmalade Co. where she worked for 25 years as office manager, notary public and corporate secretary until her retirement in 1994.
Jo was also involved with scouting, Little League, Newcomers Club, line dancing, and donated innumerable hours volunteering for Civil Air Patrol, Friends of the Library, Christian Women's Club, Swansboro Country Property Owners Association, Mosquito Volunteer Fire Association and Experimental Aircraft Association.
Her passion in retirement turned out to be genealogy, which played a big part in recent years when traveling with her longtime companion, Fred. They didn't take a lot of trips but the RV trips they did take lasted from 6 weeks to 6 months, the most memorable being in 2008 when they spent the summer in Alaska. Fred saw to it that Jo returned to Nebraska several times after a 30 year absence and to many other states she had never been to.
Jo is survived by her sons Kevin and David; longtime companion Frederick Wilder; sister Jerre (Tom) Brookshire; stepmothers Lorraine Nelson Edelson and Charlene Nelson; granddaughter Sarah Danielle Thomas; great grandson Jason; step-sisters Paula Burditt and Betsy Gersch; brother-in-law Arnold (Joan) Thomas; sisters-in-law Nila (Joseph) Campbell and Naomi Withey. She was preceded in death by her husband Carroll in 2000; her father Vernon; her brother Philip Vernon Nelson; step-sister Barbara Scott in 2006; and mother Shirley in 2013.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, June 29, 2017, 10:30 a.m. at Chapel of the Pines Funeral Home, 2855 Cold Springs Rd., Placerville, CA. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make a memorial donation to Snowline Hospice, 6520 Pleasant Valley Rd., Diamond Springs, CA 95619.
In Memory of
Jo Catherine Thomas
December 3, 1939 - June 24, 2017
Obituary
Jo Catherine Nelson Thomas was born December 3, 1939 in Fremont, Nebraska to Vernon Grover Nelson and Shirley Mae Pfeiffer Nelson. Jo passed away peacefully surrounded by family and loved ones at her home in Placerville, California on June 24, 2017.
Jo had fond memories of living with her paternal grandparents, an aunt and an uncle in Hooper, Nebraska, while her father served in the Army during WWII. Jo attended Wasmer and Trinity Lutheran Schools in Grand Island, Nebraska, before moving to Fullerton, California with her father, stepmother and sister, Jerre, in 1954.
After graduating from Fullerton Union High School in June 1957, Jo married Carroll Alonzo Thomas on August 30, 1957 in Fullerton. Children from this union are Kevin Alonzo Thomas and David Scott Thomas.
After gaining bookkeeping experience while working for her father at Bellflower Motor Parts, Jo was hired by First Western Bank as a switchboard operator initially. Within a few weeks she became a teller, then a bookkeeper and ended her 8 year career at the bank as secretary to the bank manager. Her next job was at the local Ford agency until she was recruited by King Kelly Marmalade Co. where she worked for 25 years as office manager, notary public and corporate secretary until her retirement in 1994.
Jo was also involved with scouting, Little League, Newcomers Club, line dancing, and donated innumerable hours volunteering for Civil Air Patrol, Friends of the Library, Christian Women's Club, Swansboro Country Property Owners Association, Mosquito Volunteer Fire Association and Experimental Aircraft Association.
Her passion in retirement turned out to be genealogy, which played a big part in recent years when traveling with her longtime companion, Fred. They didn't take a lot of trips but the RV trips they did take lasted from 6 weeks to 6 months, the most memorable being in 2008 when they spent the summer in Alaska. Fred saw to it that Jo returned to Nebraska several times after a 30 year absence and to many other states she had never been to.
Jo is survived by her sons Kevin and David; longtime companion Frederick Wilder; sister Jerre (Tom) Brookshire; stepmothers Lorraine Nelson Edelson and Charlene Nelson; granddaughter Sarah Danielle Thomas; great grandson Jason; step-sisters Paula Burditt and Betsy Gersch; brother-in-law Arnold (Joan) Thomas; sisters-in-law Nila (Joseph) Campbell and Naomi Withey. She was preceded in death by her husband Carroll in 2000; her father Vernon; her brother Philip Vernon Nelson; step-sister Barbara Scott in 2006; and mother Shirley in 2013.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, June 29, 2017, 10:30 a.m. at Chapel of the Pines Funeral Home, 2855 Cold Springs Rd., Placerville, CA. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make a memorial donation to Snowline Hospice, 6520 Pleasant Valley Rd., Diamond Springs, CA 95619.
Jo Catherine Thomas
December 3, 1939 - June 24, 2017
Obituary
Jo Catherine Nelson Thomas was born December 3, 1939 in Fremont, Nebraska to Vernon Grover Nelson and Shirley Mae Pfeiffer Nelson. Jo passed away peacefully surrounded by family and loved ones at her home in Placerville, California on June 24, 2017.
Jo had fond memories of living with her paternal grandparents, an aunt and an uncle in Hooper, Nebraska, while her father served in the Army during WWII. Jo attended Wasmer and Trinity Lutheran Schools in Grand Island, Nebraska, before moving to Fullerton, California with her father, stepmother and sister, Jerre, in 1954.
After graduating from Fullerton Union High School in June 1957, Jo married Carroll Alonzo Thomas on August 30, 1957 in Fullerton. Children from this union are Kevin Alonzo Thomas and David Scott Thomas.
After gaining bookkeeping experience while working for her father at Bellflower Motor Parts, Jo was hired by First Western Bank as a switchboard operator initially. Within a few weeks she became a teller, then a bookkeeper and ended her 8 year career at the bank as secretary to the bank manager. Her next job was at the local Ford agency until she was recruited by King Kelly Marmalade Co. where she worked for 25 years as office manager, notary public and corporate secretary until her retirement in 1994.
Jo was also involved with scouting, Little League, Newcomers Club, line dancing, and donated innumerable hours volunteering for Civil Air Patrol, Friends of the Library, Christian Women's Club, Swansboro Country Property Owners Association, Mosquito Volunteer Fire Association and Experimental Aircraft Association.
Her passion in retirement turned out to be genealogy, which played a big part in recent years when traveling with her longtime companion, Fred. They didn't take a lot of trips but the RV trips they did take lasted from 6 weeks to 6 months, the most memorable being in 2008 when they spent the summer in Alaska. Fred saw to it that Jo returned to Nebraska several times after a 30 year absence and to many other states she had never been to.
Jo is survived by her sons Kevin and David; longtime companion Frederick Wilder; sister Jerre (Tom) Brookshire; stepmothers Lorraine Nelson Edelson and Charlene Nelson; granddaughter Sarah Danielle Thomas; great grandson Jason; step-sisters Paula Burditt and Betsy Gersch; brother-in-law Arnold (Joan) Thomas; sisters-in-law Nila (Joseph) Campbell and Naomi Withey. She was preceded in death by her husband Carroll in 2000; her father Vernon; her brother Philip Vernon Nelson; step-sister Barbara Scott in 2006; and mother Shirley in 2013.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, June 29, 2017, 10:30 a.m. at Chapel of the Pines Funeral Home, 2855 Cold Springs Rd., Placerville, CA. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you make a memorial donation to Snowline Hospice, 6520 Pleasant Valley Rd., Diamond Springs, CA 95619.
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