Jo Ann Silva

Jo Ann was born in Amesbury, Mass. to Salvatore and Stella Bartolotta on December 16, 1935. She married Raymond Silva on September 29, 1956 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She retired as the finance director for the Athens housing authority after numerous years of service.

Jo Ann is preceded in death by her loving husband Ray and her parents Salvatore and Stella Bartolotta. In her final days, Jo Ann asked to have the bedroom door open to hear the sound of children playing outside. She loved to travel and discovering her ancestry. She traveled to Italy, Poland, Alaska, Hawaii and travelled across the U.S. many times.

Jo Ann is survived by three sons: Michael (Lori) Silva of CT, Joe (Lisa) Silva of Paris, KY and Jeff Silva of Gulf Breeze, FL, and 7 grandchildren: Jonathan, Jay, Bo, Jesse, Corey, Matt and Jennifer and one great- grandchild, Abigail. She is also survived by four sisters, Fran Bartolotta of Montreal, Canada, Cindy Lemmon of Sunnyvale CA, Vini Bartolotta of Atkinson New Hampshire and Marylee Messina of Groveland, Massachusetts.

The funeral service for Mrs. Silva will be on Friday, November 30 at 10 a.m. in the chapel of Bernstein Funeral Home with visitation one hour prior. Burial will be after the service at Evergreen Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to The American Cancer Society, 105 Westpark Drive, Ste. C, Athens, GA 30606; www.cancer.org.

The family of Jo Ann wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Rick Parker, Becky Hartman, Charlie Gluodinis and the wonderful staff at Compassionate Care Hospice.

Bernstein Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.