Jo Anne Yarbrough

Jo Anne Yarbrough, 83, of Port Huron, passed away Thursday, June 7, 2018 surrounded by family and friends at Lakeshore AFC in Lexington, Michigan, after a long and courageous battle with kidney disease.

Jo was born November 27, 1934 to the late Joseph and Mildred Richardson and lived most of her life in Port Huron.

She attended St. Stephen High School in Port Huron, graduating in 1952. Upon graduation and turning 18, Jo proudly enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and considered this to be one of her greatest accomplishments. During her career in the Marine Corps, she was chosen as a model for the uniform worn by the women Marines and her picture appears in several editions of the World Book Encyclopedia from the 50’s and early 60’s.

While in the Marine Corps, Jo met and married William Earl Yarbrough Jr. in El Toro, California. They had one child.

In 1963, Jo Anne returned to Michigan where she worked for many years as a professional secretary at Anker-Holth and then for Port Huron Paper, which later became Domtar, until her retirement in 2002. During this time she belonged to several professional organizations and was named Secretary of the Year. She was a member of Professional Secretaries International, a former Red Hatter, Salvation Army Ladies Auxiliary, St. Mary’s of Port Huron and other organizations through the years. She was also extremely proud of her family and their many accomplishments.

She is survived by her daughter, Janice (Thomas) Britz; grandchildren, Andrew (Tiani) Barnum, Christopher Barnum, Tara (John) Siebert and Shannon Britz (Chad Reece); great grandchildren, Abigail Barnum, Juliet DeMars, Sawyer Reece and Emma Siebert; a sister, Roberta Ellis; nephew, Donald Ellis (Verna Lozano); and her granddog, Sara Bella. She was preceded in death by her parents, and brother-in-law, Donald Ellis.

Visitation will be 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Monday in Karrer-Simpson Funeral Home.

Jo Anne will lie in state from 10 a.m. until the time of the Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 in St. Mary Catholic Church, Port Huron. The Rev. Zbigniew Zomerfeld will officiate.

Burial will be in Mt. Hope Cemetery, Port Huron.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Kidney Foundation or towards a scholarship for her great grandchildren.

To send condolences, please visit karrersimpson.com.

The family wishes to thank Joel and Tara Durecka and the staff at Lakeshore AFC for the love and care they gave and also the staff at Ferenius Dialysis for their friendship and the great care they gave over the years.