Jo Mae Passano

Jo Mae (Watkins) Passano, 88, beloved resident of China Grove, passed away shortly before dawn on November 4, 2021, on the farm where she lived for most of her life. She was surrounded by family: her husband of 65 years, John Dyer Passano, her sons Michael and Peter, and her daughter Toni.

Jo Mae has ties to her community and the land where she lived that span four generations. She was born on February 26, 1933 in Conroe, Texas, the only child of the late Ivan A. and Dorothy (Adams) Watkins. Jo Mae graduated from Brackenridge High School and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in education from Sul Ross State University. It was in San Antonio that she met a young army pilot named John at a club when he asked her to dance one night. John remembers her as “a very pretty girl and a good dancer—a lot better than I was.” As the evening drew to a close, John recalls, “I asked if she’d come back the next week.”

She did. They were married on January 19, 1957.

Jo Mae traveled the world with her family during John's military career. They were stationed in San Marcos, Texas; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Würzburg, Germany; Fort Hood, Texas and finally Tehran, Iran. They returned home to China Grove in 1974 after John retired from the Army and they began a new chapter. They bought a small ranch next to Jo Mae’s mother and father's place, raised Red Angus cattle, and became the owners of Hero's Ice and Feed. Jo Mae eventually returned to teaching full time as a SAISD history and geography teacher at Highlands High School where she was a dedicated and patient teacher- a favorite among students and faculty.

Joe Mae loved children, she made a “mean potato salad,” and was a gifted seamstress, sewing most of her clothes as well as her daughter’s. Family, friends, and the simple pleasures they brought always came first. She was by nature an exceptionally kind woman, so she made time to care for others as well. During the Vietnam War, she volunteered to work with Vietnam veterans at the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) Burn Center, the sole facility caring for combat burn casualties within the Department of Defense. She visited the soldiers, bringing them food and providing company. The soldiers had suffered severe burns and her children recall that “mom came home shaken by it, but—she always went back knowing that the young servicemen needed her support.”

She was indeed a woman who always went back. She returned to the land where she had lived as a child. She cherished family and the friendships that she had nurtured throughout her life. She always remembered who and what mattered. Among those she most treasured were her four grandchildren, Sean and Megan— children of her son Michael and his wife, Carol—and Omar and Raavi—children of her daughter Toni.

Services will be at the Sunset Funeral Home Chapel on Monday, November 15 at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to be made in Jo Mae’s honor to the American Kidney Fund.