Jo Ann Jacobs

Jo Ann Schoolfield Jacobs, of Marietta, Georgia, died at home on June 4, 2022, following a long struggle with vascular dementia. Her daughter, Nancy Overholtzer, and Roger Smith, her son by another mother, were by her side.

She was born October 31, 1936, in Spring City, Tennessee, where she graduated from Spring City High School and attended Tennessee Technological University. She loved her college experience and instilled in her daughter the value of higher education.

Jo Ann was a beautiful child (Little Miss Spring City) and a beautiful woman. She married the love of her life, Vernie (Vernon) Edward Jacobs, on October 20, 1956, at the age of nineteen. They bought their first home in Lookout Valley in 1957 and raised their daughter, Nancy (a.k.a. Markee), there.

Jane Lindsay, Jo Ann’s friend, encouraged her to become a substitute teacher, and in 1964, she started a 33-year career with the Hamilton County and Chattanooga City School systems. She took Nancy to work with her, and the preschooler would nap in the teachers’ lounge. She moved to full-time at Lookout Valley Junior-Senior High School as the first school nurse, registrar, and finally secretary to the principal. Jo Ann was part of the team that achieved accreditation for the school by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in the 1970s. She moved to the Central Office and worked in payroll until her retirement in 1997.

Jo Ann loved working with kids and her community. She was the staff sponsor for the award-winning high school newspaper, The Sting. As homeroom mother, she could be counted on to bake heart-shaped cookies for Valentine’s Day and to sew the elephant costumes for the PTA program. She even donned pads and a helmet for a powder puff football game for a school fundraiser. She was the Girl Scout leader who was not afraid to fill her living room with cases of cookies or to go on a sleepover in the woods at Camp Adahi.

She took 4-year-old Nancy to her first political meet and greet for a gubernatorial candidate at the Chow Time diner. She encouraged Nancy’s involvement in politics and enlisted her help for candidate literature drops. She and Vernon volunteered as Democratic Party poll watchers until they were in their seventies. Jo Ann was the campaign manager for Janice Boydston’s successful run for the Chattanooga School Board in 1986.

Jo Ann and Vernon liked to vacation in their travel trailer and indulged their daughter’s interest in history with trips to Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. and all points in between. Special family memories were made at Sherwood Forest Campground in Myrtle Beach, S.C. During the summer, they would park the camper at Harrison Bay State Park, and Vernon would go to work from the campground. Nancy and Jo Ann would spend the day at the pool or riding bicycles. These trips often included school friends and cousins.

Jo Ann was a talented and gifted seamstress and made most of her daughter’s clothes. She made everything from jeans to prom and bridesmaids dresses. She learned to sew and to make quilts from her parents, Ruth Wright and Quincy Schoolfield. She learned to knit with Jane and knitted blankets and sweaters for friends and family. Nancy continues the family tradition as one of the founding members of the East Cobb International Knitting and Crochet Group. Nancy is also learning to quilt.

Vernon was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2004, and Jo Ann became his full-time caregiver, rarely leaving the house except to go to the grocery store or to take him to the doctor. They moved to Weatherstone in Marietta, Georgia, in 2011 to be near Nancy and her husband, Jon Overholtzer. Vernon passed away in 2012, and Jo Ann never recovered from the loss, despite the support of her Weatherstone friends like Polly Pulliam, Anne and Joe Rogers, Ruth Gregory, Mary Kay Poland, Betty Simms, and many others.

Her little dachshund, Keegan, was adopted from DREAM Dachshund Rescue in 2013 following the death of Dudley, the family’s third dachshund. Keegan was her constant companion and caregiver throughout her illness. He kept a watchful eye on the physical therapists and nurses that visited her in the final weeks. He woke Nancy up and alerted the caregivers when Jo Ann got out of bed or needed assistance. Keegan is now a treasured member of the Overholtzer pack.

Jo Ann is survived by her daughter and only child, Nancy, her son-in-law, Jon, her brothers Lamar (Linda) Schoolfield of Acworth, Georgia, Douglas (Carolyn) Schoolfield of Paris, Tennessee, and her sister, June (Kenneth) Richmond of McEwen, Tennessee, as well as numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. In addition to Vernon, Jo Ann was preceded in death by her parents and her beloved aunt, Billie Nolan.

A memorial service is planned for August 6, 2022, at 1:30 in the afternoon at H.M. Patterson & Sons Funeral Home, Canton Hill Chapel, 1157 Old Canton Road, Marietta, GA 30068.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made in her memory to the Jo Ann S. and Vernie E. Jacobs Memorial Scholarship for graduates of Lookout Valley High School. Gifts to the scholarship should be made to the UC Foundation by calling 423-425-4057 or mailing to:

University of Chattanooga Foundation, Inc.

615 McCallie Ave, Dept 6806

Chattanooga, TN 37403

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hmpattersoncantonhill.com for the Jacobs family.