Johanna “Jo” K. Meredith, 90, of Charles Town, West Virginia passed away Monday, October 16, 2017 at Greenfield Assisted Living in Berryville, Virginia.
Ms. Meredith was born in 1927 in Jasper County, Missouri, the daughter of the late Hallam and Esther Ruark. She spent her childhood in Oklahoma as her father worked for Roxana Oil, Shell Oil Company. With a lifelong passion for reading Shakespeare, Donne, and Chaucer, she graduated from University of Oklahoma in 1953 with a graduate degree in English Literature. Ms. Meredith taught English Literature at the University of Oklahoma and at Westminster College. In 1966 she and her husband moved back to Norman, Oklahoma as both thought Norman would be a good city to raise their two sons. While living in Norman she worked for 19 years at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center for the Federal Aviation Administration in the Methodology and Standards section. Ms. Meredith also served as a consultant to the International Civil Aviation Organization, an NGO body of the UN.
Ms. Meredith was married for 60 years to her best friend and husband, Phillip Kerr Meredith, who preceded her in death in 2008. They had met at a USO function which Ms. Meredith had helped sponsor during World War II and immediately became close companions for life.
Jo was a lifelong gardener, and loved most of all to work outside in her garden. She was a member of the Norman Garden Club and a Master Gardener. She and her husband shared a passion for growing grapes in Oklahoma and had a small vineyard in which they experimented with many different grape varieties on native grape stock. Jo also was a dedicated weaver and would spend hours at her specially made loom. She belonged to a local weavers guild in Oklahoma.
Surviving are sons, Mark P. Meredith, CSEIT of Charles Town, West Virginia and John T. Meredith, MD FACEP (Laura C. Crawford) of Greenville, North Carolina; grandchild, Ian Grey Meredith of Greenville, North Carolina; and brother, Hallam Ruark of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Along with her husband, Ms. Meredith is preceded in death by sisters, Patricia Guinn and Elizabeth Stone.
She was of the Episcopal faith.
All services will be private. Arrangements are being handled by Omps Funeral Home, Amherst Chapel, Winchester, Virginia.
Memorial contributions in memory of Johanna Meredith may be made to Alzheimer’s Association National Capital Area Chapter, 8180 Greensboro Drive, #400, McLean, Virginia 22102.