Josephine Walker Meador

Jo Walker-Meador “Country Music Ambassador to the World” died Tuesday, August 15 in Nashville following a brief illness. She was 93. Born Edith Josephine Denning, the future Jo Walker-Meador was one of 11 children raised on a farm near Orlinda, Tennessee. She dreamed of becoming a high school English teacher and girls’ basketball coach, but after studying at Lambuth College for two years, she transferred to George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville. She paid her way through school by working as a secretary while also taking night classes in typing and shorthand. After more than four years as executive secretary to the president of Crescent Amusement, a period of doing public relations for Tennessee State Attorney General G. Edward Friar’s run for governor, and a brief spell as office manager for Gold Hill Food Corp., she accepted an offer to become office manager, and the first paid employee, at the fledgling Country Music Association in 1958. She was named executive director in 1962. During her tenure, she traveled the world selling the country music brand. In the process, she helped a struggling organization grow to a membership of more than 7,000 and country radio stations grow to more than 2,500 nationally. During her career, Jo was instrumental in establishing several groundbreaking projects and activities, such as the Country Music Hall of Fame, the annual CMA Awards Show, Fan Fair (now CMA Festival) and other events designed to enhance the image of Country Music throughout the world. Jo was recognized for her contribution to the Country Music industry many times, including induction into the prestigious Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995. She also received a star on the Music City Walk of Fame in 2008. Two prestigious awards bear her name – one recognizing international contributions, while one honors exceptional endeavors by pioneering women in music. In 1970, the city of Nashville presented her with the Metronome Award, given each year to the person who has done the most to further Nashville as an entertainment center. In 1981, she was named Lady Executive of the Year by the Nashville Chapter of the National Women Executives. Other honors bestowed upon her include SESAC’s Ambassador of Country Music and BMI’s Commendation of Excellence. The Academy of Country Music Honored her in 1983 with its Jim Reeves Memorial Award in Recognition of her role in establishing CMA’s London Office and her 25 years of distinguished dedication to Country Music. During the 1991 CMA Awards Show, she received the prestigious Irving Waugh Award of Excellence. She retired in 1991 but continued to travel the world representing the music for which she had such passion, as well as attending almost all events at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Along with the considerable time and effort she devoted to CMA, Jo was active in community activities, including the American Cancer Society, the Metropolitan Tourist Commission, the Board of the National Music Council, Travelers Aid, and was also active in many other charitable and civic organizations. In 1977, she became the second woman ever elected by the membership of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce to serve a three-year term on its Board of Governors. In addition, she was the first woman elected to the board of Big Brothers and in 1989 became the first woman elected as the organization’s president. She served on the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation, as a SCORE (Service Core of Retired Executives) counselor, and as an advisor to several internationals involved in Country Music. Jo lost her first husband, Charles “Smokey” Walker, of WKDA Radio, to a motorcycle accident in 1967. In 1981, she married Robert H. Meador, a Nashville businessman, who died in 2015. She is survived by a daughter, Michelle Walker, of Depoe Bay, Oregon, stepchildren, Karen Meador of Santa Fe, NM and Rob Meador of New York City, and two brothers, Pete Denning and Eugene Denning of Orlinda,

numerous nieces and nephews and close friend Patsy Kidd. The family will receive friends at Woodlawn Roesch-Patton Funeral Home, 660 Thompson Lane, Tuesday, August 22 from 4:00-7:00 P.m. Following a private burial on Wednesday, August 23, a memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. at Christ Presbyterian Church, 2323 Old Hickory Boulevard. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations should be made to the Sarah Cannon Fund at PearlPoint Cancer Support www.pearlpoint.org/sarahcannonfund.

Arrangements under the direction of Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home & Me, Nashville, TN.