Jo Ann McLeod

Jo Ann McLeod was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and sister, and a skilled homemaker, businesswoman and artist. She lost her battle with Alzheimer’s disease on Friday, September 21, 2012 . She was 79.

Jo Ann was born in Paris, Texas, on September 26, 1932. The family later moved to Dallas and then to Corsicana, where she made lifelong friends and met her future husband, Dan McLeod. They were married for 61 years.

The McLeods and their three sons, Danny, Leslie and Mark, moved around the state with Dan’s coaching career, living in Pecos, Odessa and Corsicana, where Jo Ann worked from home as assistant society editor of the Corsicana Daily Sun. In 1962 they moved to Waco, where they have made their home for 50 years.

After a satisfying stint as a stay-at-home mom, Jo Ann went to work as an advertising copywriter at Goldstein-Migel. She enjoyed advertising, and began taking night classes at Baylor. She became an account executive at Southwest Advertising Agency in Waco, and in September 1968 the Waco Tribune-Herald featured her in a series called “Waco Women at Work.” After leaving advertising she started a new career selling real estate with Jim Stewart Realtors.

After leaving real estate, Jo Ann began watercolor painting, and her heretofore undiscovered talent as an artist emerged. She attended workshops and displayed her art at shows throughout Central Texas.

Jo Ann is survived by her husband, Dan McLeod of Waco; sons, Danny McLeod of Waco, Leslie and wife Dawn of Cary, North Carolina and Mark and wife Teresa of Waco; grandchildren, Arran McLeod of Waco, Ross McLeod of Ft. Worth, and Samantha and Tyler McLeod of Cary, North Carolina , great-grandchildren, Xeirran Marie and Roxy Lee; and sisters, Arlene Logan of Englewood, Florida, and Mary-Love Bigony of Austin.

A memorial with family and friends will be held at the residence in Waco next Saturday. The family wishes to thank the staff at Sunset Home in Clifton, Texas for the care they provided Mother.

The family invites you to leave memories and messages at www.gracegardensfh.com