JoAnn Bickham's Obituary
Jo Ann Bickham was born in Atlanta, Texas on January 14, 1933 and went to be with the Lord on the evening of June 18, 2014 in Longview, Texas. She grew up in East Texas during the Depression Era and graduated from Sabine High School in 1950.
Jo Ann met her future husband, W. A. "Bill" Bickham, and they married on December 18, 1952, one month before Bill left for Marine Corps boot camp. Fourteen months later, their first child was born while Bill was serving in Japan. Jo Ann raised their daughter alone until Bill was discharged from the Marines in 1955. They lived in Longview, TX, where they raised their three children.
Jo Ann was a home-maker, an active member of Mobberly Baptist Church, an integral member of Citizens on Patrol and volunteered at Good Shepherd Medical Center. She was loved and surrounded by family and friends at many holiday celebrations hosted in her home, numerous church banquets and productions, and at annual neighborhood block parties.
Jo Ann was not only a physically beautiful woman, but she had a beautiful, giving spirit also. Known as "Nana" in her latter years, she loved her family, enjoyed spoiling her grand-children and great-grandchildren, kept everyone laughing at her quirky comments and was the honored matriarch of her family.
Those left to cherish her memory are her children, Valerie Allen and her husband, Ron, Kent Bickham, and Kyle Bickham; her grandchildren, Shane Allen, Whitney Sanders, Deidra Smith, Alex Bickham, and Madison Bickham; her great-grandchildren, Lexi and Dylan Sanders and Addison Smith; niece Paula Bickham and nephew Bob Bickham; sister-in-law, Mary Ann Ward, and her adored cat, Sammi. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Bill, her baby brother Robert Ward and her brother- and sister-in-law, Al and Minnie Bickham.
Memorial services will be held at twelve o'clock on Monday, June 23rd at Rader Funeral Home in Longview, Texas. Visitation will be held one hour prior, at eleven o'clock. The family will have a brief burial service at Lakeview Cemetery immediately following the memorial service.
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