She was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, and was an inspiration to all who met her.
Jo was born in Ravenwood Missouri on March 27, 1933 and grew up on a farm outside Guilford Missouri with her parents, Orville and Garnet Lewis, and her four siblings: Charlotte (Brown), Olive Jean (Snodderly), Curt Lewis and Karen (Swan). She graduated from Lafayette High School in St. Joseph in 1951 and moved to Kansas City the following year and lived with her sister Charlotte. She got a job at Hallmark in the product scheduling department where she met her future husband, Martin Olof Johnson, who also worked at Hallmark. The happy couple married on October 26, 1958 and settled into their newly built home in 1959 in Prairie Village, KS. Their daughter Sheri Lynn was born in May 1960 and Dana Michele was born in December 1964. After Dana’s birth, Jo left her job to stay home and raise her daughters. When Dana was in elementary school, Jo often worked at Briarwood Elementary library. When her children were older, she worked for James R. Bates, who had several businesses and real estate holdings in the Ozarks. In 1984 Jo took a job at her church, Hillcrest Covenant, as a business manager. With her deep faith in the Lord, Jo was very active at Hillcrest, serving on the Cradle Roll committee and the Christian Education board, singing in the choir, and participating in bible studies. She was also active in Christian Women’s Club. After 25 years of faithful service, Jo retired from Hillcrest in 2009 at the age of 72.
Jo’s daughters eventually married and Jo was thrilled to become a grandmother when Kimberly Carol Gordon and Joshua Hunter Leffert were born in 1999. She loved spending time with her grandchildren. Music was another favorite of Jo’s – classical, big band and Christian music was frequently played in the home. She enjoyed going to the Kansas City Symphony with Martin and attended various Broadway shows with her daughters.
Travel was also a passion of hers, and she visited Colorado annually to see her sister Charlotte and her husband. She traveled with family and friends to California, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Virginia and several other states. Jo also visited Alaska three times and loved the Pacific Northwest coast, especially the picturesque lighthouses.
Jo moved to Covenant Place retirement community in June 2013 following the passing of Martin. She then moved to Sunrise of Lenexa following a stroke in late 2018 and lived there until her passing.
Jo Ann Johnson was preceded in death by her husband Martin, son-in-law Gary Leffert, sisters Charlotte Rae Lewis Brown and Olive Jean Lewis Snodderly and granddaughter Grace Michele Gordon. She is survived by her daughters Sheri Lynn Johnson Leffert and grandson, Joshua Hunter Leffert and Dana Johnson Gordon (husband J. David) and granddaughter Kimberly Carol Gordon. She is also survived by her brother Curt Lewis, sister Karen Swan, and several nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews. We will miss her wisdom, sense of humor, compassion, loyalty and love of family, but are comforted to know she is free from pain and with our Lord Jesus.
Visitation will be held at Mt. Moriah Funeral Home in Kansas City MO from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23. A memorial service will take place on Thursday, June 24, at 10:30 a.m. at Hillcrest Covenant Church, 8801 Nall in Prairie Village KS. A private burial service will be held earlier that morning. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hillcrest Covenant Church or the National Park Foundation.
