Jo Ann Wilkerson Jarrell, age 82, of Gautier passed away peacefully on Monday, April 24, 2023, surrounded by her family.

Jo Ann was born on July 14, 1940, in Greenville, Mississippi. However, by the time she was three-years old, her family had relocated to Pascagoula so that her father could support World War II and work at Ingalls Shipbuilding.

Jo Ann is preceded in death by her parents William Roy and Lois Triplett Wilkerson, her sisters Nora Esther Anglin and Peggy Marie Wilkerson and her brother William Roy (Bill) Wilkerson, Jr.

She is survived by her loving and dedicated husband of fifty-six years, John Andrew Jarrell, her daughters, Jennifer (Billy) Wilder, Julie (Alex) Gresham, stepson Scott (Stefanie) Jarrell, sisters-in-law, Beverlee Wilkerson and Inez (Marvin) Stone and her grandsons, Clayton Wilder, Cade Wilder, Will Gresham, Grey Gresham and Luke Gresham, as well as several nephews and nieces.

Jo Ann was an avid reader. She believed there was no better place to read than on a balcony at the beach while she listened to waves in the background. As a child she read so much that she skipped two grades in school and graduated from Pascagoula High School at the age of sixteen. While she worked several jobs before marrying John in 1966, she prided herself on being a loyal Navy wife, loving mother and proud grandmother. There was simply nothing more important to Jo Ann than her relationship with Christ and her family.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations in Jo Ann's memory to the E.V. Curry Scholarship Fund at First United Methodist Church in Pascagoula.

The family will receive friends from 10AM until 12PM on Friday April 28, 2023, at Holder-Wells Funeral Home 4007 Main Street Moss Point, MS 39563. The Funeral Service will begin at 12PM with Rev. Eddie Kirby and Rev. Larry Hilliard officiating.

Interment will follow at Machpelah Cemetery.

To share condolences and sign the online register book in Mrs. Jo Ann's memory, please visit www.holderwellsfuneralhome.com .

Holder-Wells Funeral Home served The Jarrell Family.