Mrs. Jo Ann Woodson Obituary

Mrs.  Jo Ann Mitchell Woodson of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, died Thursday, August 22, 2024, in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

The graveside memorial service will be held Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 1:00 PM at the New Poplar Spring Church Cemetery in Byromville, Georgia.

On March 17, 1941 a beautiful baby girl was born in  Savannah, Georgia.  Lovingly named, Jo Ann, she embraced life and all that it held for her.

Jo Ann had an affinity for African American art, a unique and forward-thinking sense of style and she loved to read.  She    acquired her love for reading at an early age when she would accompany her mother to the library where she worked...she said, “Mother would get up in the morning and say it’s time to go to work and off we’d go, she would work and I’d explore books and read.”  

A proud 1957 graduate of Alfred E. Beach High School, Savannah, Georgia, Jo Ann’s love for reading grew more and more.  She earned her B.A. in Elementary Education in 1961 from Talledega College, Talladega, Alabama.  Her quest continued at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana where she obtained her M.S. in Educational Research in 1964.

Jo Ann moved to Pittsburgh in the 1960’s, she had a phenomenally successful career at the University of Pittsburgh as the  Director of Residence Life until she retired in the early 2000’s.  She was also a member of the Junior Debs Social Club.

After a lengthy illness Jo Ann peacefully transitioned into eternal life on August 22, 2024, she fought a good fight with class and grace.  She was preceded in death by her mother and best friend, Geneva Marshall Mitchell.

She is survived by her goddaughter, Laurita Jackson (Darryl) of Memphis, Tennessee; godson, William P. “BJ” Battles, III; niece, Ashley L. Dillard (Sherrone); close friends and caregivers, Vicki L. Fox (Herman Robinson) and Laura Wilkins, all of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and a host of other   relatives and friends.