Jo Ann Dewey

Josephine Ann Lebert was born to Frank Anthony Lebert and Thelma Campbell on December 20, 1929 at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California. She was the youngest of three children.

After graduating from San Diego High School in 1948, she attended business school and took a secretarial job. She and Ernest Elton "Ernie" Dewey were married July 14, 1950. They built their own home in Lemon Grove and it was completed in 1951. Jo Ann took on typing theses and dissertations at home when daughter Suanne was born in 1952. Their son, Paul Elton, was born in 1956.

In 1971, she started attending classes at Grossmont College, then transfered to San Diego State University to earn a B.A. and Masters from the School of Social Work. While a social worker at Neighborhood House Association, Jo Ann received her Phd in counseling in 1986. She had a successful private practice from 1987 until she retired in 2007.

Jo Ann and Ernie loved to travel....many trips to New Zealand to visit Paul, Marianne and the grandkids; Alaska, Japan, Europe, Mexico, many national parks, and most of the east and west coasts. They frequently camped with Suanne's family. She was an avid mystery reader, loved to play Scrabble and do crossword puzzles, and she was a big fan of Padres Baseball and TV shows such as Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.

She is survived by her daughter Suanne Dewey-Hoffman and her husband Eric of La Mesa, CA; grandchildren Shay Dewey, Begum Fincham, and Leon Dewey of New Zealand, and Jessica Dewey-Hoffman of San Jose, California; seven great-grandchildren; Sister-in-laws Freida Moore of Caldwell, Idaho and Pauline Cassidy of Geneva, Alabama.

Jo Ann's remains will be interned, with her husband Ernie, at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

There will be a memorial service Saturday, June 28, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the La Mesa First United Methodist Church ~ 4690 Palm Avenue ~ La Mesa, CA 91941.