Jo Nell Marshall

“Jo Nell was the epitome of charm and savoir faire. Quick witted, fun and gracious, people were easily drawn to her and she reciprocated with kindness and inclusiveness. Jo Nell had a keen mind; she was curious and eager to experience life. She was a wise friend who helped guide me along the way. Strong and courageous until the end, I will miss her with all my heart.”

So wrote her P.E.O. sister Kathy as a tribute to Jo Nell upon her passing on Friday, the 14th of January 2022. The tributes and wishes that have literally poured in since her passing are testimony to her many blessings, the greatest of which was her ability to love and be loved by others. Jo Nell, or Mere as she was and is known by her closest family, was born into this life in Wellington, Kansas on the 8th of August 1934, during the waning years of the Great Depression. She was lifted up by a wonderful, loving family support group that nurtured Jo Nell’s character, charm, elegance and her outgoing, effusive personality.

Jo Nell was born to mother Allene and father E. L. “Jack”, who married in July of 1930 in Ada, Oklahoma. Jack’s oil and gas business took the couple to Kansas, where Jo Nell was born, but it wasn’t long before the family relocated back to the family hub in Ada. Allene was beset by an autoimmune disorder soon after Jo Nell’s birth, and the young family set off in search of treatments to ease Allene’s symptoms. They relocated many times, from Arizona to Texas and back to Oklahoma and, as a result, Jo Nell attended 11 elementary and middle schools before resettling in time to enroll in Ada High School. Her father Jack tragically passed when she was just 16 years of age, and her grandparents Viola and Parley Duke took her under their wing and supported her mother as they collectively ushered Jo Nell through high school. She graduated in 1952 and moved to Norman to attend the University of Oklahoma, where she pledged with the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and majored in drama. While she was enrolled at OU, she married her high school sweetheart, Joe Nicholson. They were together only a short while before Joe, an Army pilot, sadly lost his life in a plane crash less than a year after the two were married.

Jo Nell settled in Oklahoma City after graduation, finding a career path in oil and gas accounting - not a typical vocation for someone as outgoing and energetic as Jo Nell, but she was an extremely bright and confident young woman with a penchant for organization, order and logic. On a double date in 1958, Jo Nell met Lee Marshall and instantly fell in love. The two were married in 1959 in Oklahoma City and their journey as a couple began. Her son, Lee, Jr. “Whit”, was born in 1960 and her daughter Jacquelyn “Jackie” was born a year later. Lee’s career in marketing took off and they moved several times before finally landing in Houston in 1976, where the kids graduated high school. Upon achieving empty-nester status, Lee and Jo Nell moved to Fort Worth for almost a decade before Lee entered semi-retirement and they returned to Houston.

Throughout Jo Nell and Lee’s journey together, they were blessed with a host of dear, beloved friends at every stop along the way. She and Lee were the perfect couple - the travels they took, the special occasions enjoyed with their closest friends, the parties and the dinners and the laughter and the love and the accomplishments that they shared are indeed the stuff of legend. Those two knew how to live life to the fullest and they took every opportunity to do so – together!

Nothing on this earth meant more to Jo Nell than her family. Lee’s daughter Deb was the apple of Jo Nell’s eye when she and Lee came together. Even though Deb was raised separately, Jo Nell held Deb close to her heart through the years and when the time came for the family to unite as one, Jo Nell felt as if her most fervent prayers had been answered. Adam and Scott, Deb’s sons, were her first grandchildren, and they were immediately immersed in Jo Nell’s love. As Scott writes, “Knowing that I had her in my life was a source of support for me and will continue to be as long as I live. I can only hope that I can pass the same gift to my children and grandchildren. Long will the impressions she had on so many last through the generations of this family. Thank you Mere, and from the bottom of my heart, I love you. Thank you for being such a blessing to this world.” Adam also writes, “Mere was our matriarch. She kept the family together through everything. Everything I know about family begins with Mere – our Queen of Queens”.

Jackie and Whit soon followed up with granddaughters of their own – Jordan and Lily. Jordan was adopted into the family by Jackie and Lily was born to Whit in the year 2000. Little did they know what true love lay in store for them! Not a day went by that Jo Nell wasn’t thinking of ways to profess her love for and pride in her two most precious girls. When Jackie found her wife Claire, Claire’s two children, Joy and Taylor, were swept into the fold. As the family blossomed, so did the Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthday celebrations, and the family vacations to Sun Valley, Idaho to visit Deb and her family…the laughter and the love and the memories abounded. And at the center of it all stood Jo Nell and Lee as the matriarch and patriarch of the family. They are both gone now, but we are all wonderfully blessed and far richer as human beings for their love, guidance and wisdom.

Jo Nell was a long-serving member of the P.E.O. sisterhood, an organization dedicated to the promotion of educational opportunities for women. She evolved into a servant leader within the sisterhood, rising through the ranks to take on positions of senior leadership in the Texas State Chapter. She nurtured countless deep friendships within the sisterhood, which truly became her second family.

Jo Nell’s enduring love will be eternally felt by her three children, Deb, Jackie and her loving wife Claire, and Whit and the love of his life, Kim; grandsons, Adam (aka Yotee Muffin), and Scott and his wife Lamyaa; her precious granddaughters, Jordan and Lily; Claire’s amazing children, Joy and Taylor; and Jo Nell’s two incredible great-grandchildren, Sophia and Ryan;. She has been rejoined with the love of her life, Lee, and those two will most certainly dance and laugh their way into eternity. And she has reunited with her Mom, her Dad, her best friend Meredee, her beloved cousin Madolyn, and countless other family members and friends.

A memorial service and celebration of her life is to be conducted at twelve o'clock noon on Saturday, the 26th of February, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston, officiated by the Reverend Richard “Dick” Elwood, Pastoral Associate at St. Martin’s. Kindly note: those unable to attend may watch the live-stream whose link is accessible by visiting her online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com, and selecting the “Join Livestream” icon in the service information block.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent grand foyer.

The family will gather for a private inurnment at a later date.

In lieu of flowers customary remembrances, please entertain donations to St. Martin’s Episcopal Church Endowment (https://stmartinsepiscopal.org/honorariumsmemorials/); to Texas Children’s Hospital (https://waystogive.texaschildrens.org/), or to the P.E.O International Sisterhood (https://donations.peointernational.org/).

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