Jo Ann Bock

With love, her family mourns the death but also celebrates the life of Jo Ann Bock.

Jo Ann Burton Bock, who passed away Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, was born Dec. 31, 1929, to Charles and Lela Rauh Burton. She and Howard Bock were married May 21, 1950, in Cape Girardeau.

Jo Ann had a lifelong love of books and writing. At Trinity Lutheran Grade School, she earned her way by cleaning up after meals because her parents could not afford the cost. As a young teen, she was a waitress, and at 17 she became a reporter for the Southeast Missourian, where she wrote human interest features and obituaries. As was journalistic custom, she ended her stories with the symbol -30-, which signified the story had ended.

She graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School in 1947, received a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1964, majoring in English and journalism at Southeast Missouri State College, and a master’s degree in English in 1973.

Jo Ann also loved music. Her father used to play guitar and sing with her and her younger sister, Kitty, literally on his knee. Daddy Charlie died of tuberculosis in 1943.

She had a beautiful singing voice and was often a soloist in the church choir. She sang with Cape Choraliers, Sweet Adeline Girardot Rose Chorus and choirs at Trinity Lutheran Church and Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel.

She was very active in many community organizations. She was a den mother with the Cub Scouts, charter member of the Jaycee Wives, charter member and officer of Mental Health Council of Cape Girardeau County, was on the board of directors for Southeast Missouri Council of the Arts, organized and presided at a writing workshop for senior citizens (under joint sponsorship with the Missouri State Council of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts), member of the Cape Writers Guild and served on the Saxony Lutheran High School advisory board in its first six years.

After working at the Southeast Missourian, Jo Ann became a teacher and taught English, journalism and research paper writing at Cape Girardeau Central High School for 26 years (1964-1990). She was also adviser to The Tiger school newspaper, Girardot yearbook and The Central Light literary anthology.

In her retirement years, she wrote a column in The Best Years magazine (Southeast Missourian) for more than 20 years. She also wrote a book, "Around the Town of Cape Girardeau in Eighty Years", which was published in 2013.

Jo Ann was amazingly resilient and strong in dealing with her son Bradley’s severe mental illness for more than 50 years in the family home.

Jo Ann accomplished much in her 94 years. She would tell you her biggest accomplishment by far was being mother to three sons and wife to her husband for 59 years until his passing in 2009.

She is survived by sons, Burton (Deborah) Bock of Cape Girardeau, and Brian (Bonnie) Bock of Sugar Land, Texas; grandchildren, Nathan (Janessa) Bock, and their children, Olivia, Cora and Genevieve; Amanda (Wes) Calhoun, and their children, Haylyn, Brenna and Finley; Adam (fiancee Daoyen) Bock; stepgrandchildren, James (Jessica) Staufenbiel, and their child, Eris, and Megan Staufenbiel; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Jo Ann was preceded in death by her parents; stepfather, Richard “Dick” Ware; husband, Howard Bock; son, Bradley Bock; half brother, Richard “Dick” Cissell; sister, Kathryn “Kitty” Jolls; and stepbrother, David Ware.

No doubt there must be other moms as wonderful, but her sons and late husband would say they have not met any.

Now it’s time for that ending symbol.

-30-

Goodbye, Mother.