Jo Donna Sperry Marshall's Obituary
Our dear, loving mother took her last breath on Friday afternoon of January 16 in her Memory Care apartment at Capitol Hill Senior Living in Salt Lake City, Utah. She died peacefully in the presence of loved ones and surrounded by artwork of her late husband Clifford. Jo's death was from complications of Vascular Dementia. She was 96.
Jo Donna Steele was the only child of Rainey Galimore (Jack) and Thelma June (Ablett) Steele. She was born and raised in the Southern Illinois coal mining town of West Frankfort. High School was spent making life-long friendships and playing bass clarinet in the orchestra. After graduation, with an eye toward funding an eventual college education, Jo took the train to Chicago where she completed three years at Presbyterian Nursing School and became a registered nurse. It was during this time that she met a dental school student, Clifford Allen Sperry. After an eventful courtship involving a limburger cheese incident and dye-injected chocolates, Jo and Cliff were married in September, 1950 in the West Frankfort Methodist Church.
The young couple settled in the central Illinois college town of Normal where Jo supervised the Obstetrics division in the local Hospital and Cliff practiced dentistry. On becoming pregnant Jo retired for good from her short nursing career and spent the 50's raising a family of three: Cate, Jane, and John Sperry. Home movies of the era document the annual carousel of birthdays and holidays with visits from Jack and Thelma. As the family grew, Jo created a loving home where each child was given the freedom to become themselves…as long as the chores were done!
As the 60's rolled around, Jo was finally able to find the time and money for her long-sought college education. She'd strap her young son in a bicycle seat and drop him off at his Kindergarten on the way to her classes. Six years later she earned her undergraduate degree in French and English at Illinois State University. This was followed by a Masters degree in English from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. On the strength of these credentials Jo was hired to teach Freshman English courses at Illinois State University in Normal, and later at Illinois Wesleyan University in the twin city of Bloomington.
By the mid-1970's Jo decided that an academic career was not for her and turned her considerable energy towards raising and marketing culinary herbs. By this time, the family had long since moved to a five-acre country "estate" ten miles east of Normal. Jo gradually, but relentlessly, put a large portion into the cultivation of herbs. Along with herb farming came a passion for cooking, and Jo created many warm memories with her savory and heroic dinner parties. Crown roasts, Goose and red cabbage, ratatouille and the like, all paired with copious wine and topped off with a fabulous dessert. Mom's herb company, "Blue Mound Herbs" was a true labor of love, yielding a rich profit of memories, if not cash.
Jo and Cliff retired and in the early 1990's pulled up stakes in Illinois and moved to the pleasant blue ridge foothills of Tryon NC, making a comfortable home for themselves and meeting new friends. After Cliff died in 1998, Jo married Cliff's dental school roommate, Arthur Marshall, and enjoyed his company until he passed in 2011. Twice widowed, Jo lived on her own until her memory began to fail. In 2017 her family moved her out to Salt Lake City to be close to son John and his wife, Holly. Jo enjoyed over 8 years at Capitol Hill senior living. Her developing dementia was relatively kind to her and she retained her love of life, sense of humor, and "never wrong" attitude until the last. We basked in the glow of her warmth and personality during our many visits, and we miss our Jo very much.
Jo Donna was predeceased by her parents (Rainey "Jack" and Thelma June Steele), eldest daughter (Catherine Elizabeth Sperry), first husband (Clifford Allen Sperry), and second husband (Arthur Marshall). She is survived by daughter Jane Sperry Jones (Hendersonville, NC) and her son and daughter-in-law John and Holly Sperry (Salt Lake City, UT). The family wishes to thank the excellent Memory Care staff at Capitol Hill Senior Living for their patience and loving care of Jo, especially Cesar, Blanca, Tania, Maria, Chris, Celese, and Maurice. Thank you also to the thoughtful nursing staff of A plus Hospice.
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