Joann Johnson (Jones), 79, of Cleveland, Ohio passed away on August 15, 2022, after a hard-fought battle with Dementia.
Joann was born on April 3, 1943, to Reb Kidd and Doris Kidd (Jones) in Landgraff, WV. Joann was the eldest of Reb & Doris’ eight children.
During a time when African Americans believed that migrating North was the path to a better life, Joann was sent to Cleveland. She moved to Cleveland and lived with her Aunt Betty, Uncle Sterling, and her younger cousins.
In Cleveland, she attended Glenville High School, met her husband, and had three kids of her own. Joann was a natural with children and spent most of her life nurturing and providing for children. So much so, that even in the last stages of her Dementia when she could remember very little, she was always worried about the “kids”.
Joann took great joy in actively supporting her children’s academic & extracurricular development. She volunteered in their classrooms regularly. She chaperoned numerous adventures, and she played an instrumental role in helping their dance class raise money, design costumes and anything else necessary to help
make the show go on.
Joann’s volunteering efforts extended into the community as she became a fixture in the Thrift Shop and central office at St. Martin de Pores for many years before leaving her Superior Ave neighborhood and relocating to the Collinwood area to realize her dream of owning her own home.
During her almost 40-year career with Catholic Charities, Joann provided janitorial services for the Head Start program before moving on and eventually retiring from the Euclid location of the Rose Mary Center for Children and Adults with Developmental Disabilities where she was single handedly responsible for running their laundry department. Her commitment to her duties earned her a reputation for being a dependable, hard worker who was passionate about doing a good job!
Joann is preceded in death by Mother Doris Kidd (Jones), her dad Reb Kidd, her brother Rufus S. Jones (aka Jack) and her husband Grover Johnson.
Joann is survived by her siblings Ervin J. Jones, Beverly J. Ennist, Deborah L. Montgomery, Shirlene Cabiness, Wanda S. Bryson, Sophia Kidd; her children Anthony Johnson, Antoinette Rollins (Torry), Andrea Johnson; her grandchildren Emmanuel, Dillon, Deann, Devon, Dominique, Deon, Desiree, Jesse; her seven great grandchildren; her great niece Aeysha and a host of other family members and friends.