JoAnne Moore Waddill

Jo Anne Moore Waddill was born on October 23rd, 1929 to John and Mary Moore in Swainsboro, GA. She spent her early years there and in Charlotte, North Carolina. During high school her family moved to Jacksonville FL, where she graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1947. “Family First” was her life’s embodiment. With her first paycheck from her first job at Southern Bell, she bought her younger brother a new trombone. After the birth of her first son, she relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, where she worked a variety of jobs to support her new family and met President Truman. In 1956, another son was born, and in 1960 Jo Anne continued work as a single-divorced mother of two young sons working for the FBI.

Moving back to Jacksonville in 1964, she met her life’s love, Joseph “Red” Waddill. She married him in 1967 upon his return from his work for a private U.S. contractor in Vietnam. A third son joined the family in 1968. She followed her husband’s annual job transfers, working and nurturing her family in Tampa, Daytona, Orlando, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alabama and Texas; finally settling down to her family home in Neptune Beach, Florida in 1977.

From 1977 to 1996, she worked in the legal and accounting departments for The Department of Defense at Mayport Navy Base. Dissatisfied with retirement, she worked with the event security company, SMG, as an administrator and as an usher, enjoying the shows, plays and concerts with Red, who worked by her side. She approached the vicissitudes of life as each providing an opportunity for an adventure. She enjoyed traveling, making new friends in Europe and at home. She was a member of the D.A. R. and was a genealogy enthusiast. She had been a long-standing member of the Ish Brandt Beautification Committee and played a significant role in establishing the “Butterfly Garden” in Jarboe Park. She will be remembered for her abundant generosity, yet clear eyed and determined approach to problems.

She is survived by her husband Joseph Edmund Waddill Sr, sons John, Jeff (Maggie) and Joey (Meri) and grandchildren Spencer, Cady, Michael, Sean, Charlie, Griffin, Eli; her brothers Jack (Sylvia), Don (Sue), Phil (Vicki); and eight great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews. She will be missed. A memorial service will be held at 11 am. Friday, April 12th at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, 1701 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville Beach. Interment will follow at 2:00 pm. at Jacksonville National Cemetery, 4083 Lannie Road, Jacksonville, Florida. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Community Hospice & Palliative Care, 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257 or give online at support.communityhospice.com.