JoAnne Palmature Holliman

It is with some trepidation we announce her passing as she would be very embarrassed and maybe a little annoyed at our making a fuss over her. But some lives are too profound... some griefs too great... some voids too vast... to bear silently.

It is doubtful that sufficient words exist to describe or explain how a life so simply, humbly and quietly lived could leave such an impression on so many.

By summary in simplest terms;

Born in Morgan City on February 17th, 1944 to Elphese and Eva Palmature, she was one of four children with brothers Leland, Darryl and Tony.

She left home at an early age and made a life for herself that carried her to Mississippi, South Carolina, Grimsby England and Holland. Ultimately she returned home to Morgan City where she lived her last twenty-two years.

Twice married ("Both times for true love, and NEVER again...") and survived by her three children Monica, Peter and Linsey.

But what does any of this really tell us about her? What if anything about her biography could explain to anyone who didn't know her what they missed out on?

We could talk about how a woman with a junior high education could speak at length about geology, minerals, fossils, history, medicine, psychology, spirituality, literature and a host of other topics that caught under the light of her blistering curiosity.

How she, when she finally found a need to pursue a GED, broke records in her state with her scores.

We would do well to note her oil paintings, charcoal and pencil drawings, her photography, sewing, crochet, poetry, carpentry, leatherwork, lettering, doll making and her desire not to just share these skills but to teach and foster others to creative joy.

We might mention some of the long list of jobs - cook, photographer's assistant, chauffer, taxi driver, sanitation worker, manager, teacher, clerk, cashier, EMT, personal caregiver, physical therapist, security guard, bartender, salesman - and the host of other ways she kept the lights on, largely with little or no assistance.

We would do best and come closest to speak of her generosity, her wit and her fire. How quickly and fiercely she defended others. How readily she lent her ear, shoulder, wisdom, time and last dime. How powerfully she loved. How she made 5'1" feel like 7'6". How deeply she could plant her heels. How very very much she could make with so very little.

How she did all this and more always putting everyone else before herself. How she did it all always with a smile.

JoAnne Palmature. Joanne Smeal. JoAnne Holliman. Nanny JoAnne. Miss JoAnne. Josie. Jo. Sister. Mother.

She has moved on - been finally put before us for once - and we, first by her presence in our lives and now her absence, will never be the same.

She requested to have no formal service but a memorial gathering for family and friends will be announced at a later date. Honor her, not with flowers, but by loving and taking care of each other in her stead.