Johanne Harkins Raymond

Johanne (Jodie) Catherine Harkins Raymond, age 92 years young, passed into eternal life on July 16, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. She was born in Springfield, Ohio the first child to Clyde and Martha Harkins.

Jodie was devoted to her family that included husband Robert J. Raymond for 72 years, children Robbie, Debbie and Steven. Along with her immediate family, Jodie cherished her extended family of 1 sister, 3 brothers, their spouses, eight nieces and nephews, 3 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

Jodie has achieved so much in her life asking for nothing in return. First, Jodie was one of the contributors to the research and ultimate treatment for RH factor couples. Until she was 65, Jodie had her blood drawn every month to extract the antigen called RHoGAM that has saved the lives of millions of RH positive babies born to RH negative mothers. Second, in the early 80’s, as technology was flourishing, Jodie and other mothers of hearing-impaired children thought of the idea of closed captioning on TV shows. They imagined a hearing-impaired person being able to understand what is being said on TV. Jodie and her army of persistent mothers pushed the big communication companies like ABC and CBS until they agreed to include closed caption TV programming. This was a group of moms who changed the world for hearing impaired. Third, Jodie used her normal attention to detail and persistence to search out the genealogy of her family. Based on her research, she discovered that her mother’s ancestors have served in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. This has opened connections to such groups as the Daughters of the American Revolution and Daughters of 1812 for future generations of the Harkins and Raymond families. Fourth, at the same time, Jodie taught herself to work a knitting machine and began to design and create exquisite unique clothes under the label Jodie Raymond Originals. She wrote instruction manuals for other people to learn her techniques. The instructions were easy to understand and were a mainstay in the machine knitting community. Her outfits and books led to her traveling the world on knitting seminars to teach techniques. Fifth, after she chose to stop traveling, she turned to another project that was born from her father’s death in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II and her family’s commitment to military service. She became one of the founding members of the Jacksonville Ladies who is a group of ladies who attend every burial at the Jacksonville National Cemetery to pay silent tribute to fallen soldiers. The Lady does not intrude but stands in silent witness in a Last Tribute to their service and sacrifice. Their mission is most significant when a soldier is buried without anyone else there to say goodbye.

Jodie was predeceased by her mother, Martha Genevieve Harkins, her brothers James David Harkins and Clyde Patrick Harkins, her sister Martha Jane Harkins Brown, her nephew James David Harkins, her daughter Deborah Joan Raymond Clinton and her son, Robert Joseph Raymond Jr. She is survived by her loving husband of 72 years, Robert J. (Bob) Raymond; their son Steven Curtis Raymond; her brother Gerald (Bob) R. Harkins.

In her final days, Jodie said that she had a wonderful life. She and her husband Bob enjoyed life and faced challenges hand-in-hand. She said she was proud of her work for babies, hearing impaired persons, genealogy, her knits, and the Jacksonville Ladies. “If there is good I can do, let me do it now for I shall not pass this way again”

Visitation will be at Hardage-Giddens Chapel Hills (850 St. Johns Bluff Rd. N) on Wednesday, July 21 from 5:00 PM – 7:00PM and service at Hardage-Giddens Chapel Hills at 10:00 on Thursday July 22 followed by interment at the Jacksonville National Cemetery. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Jacksonville Ladies in honor of Jodie. Checks can be mailed to the Support Committee at Jacksonville National Cemetery, Inc, 4083 Lannie Road, Jacksonville, FL 32218-1247. Info is available at jacksonvilleladies.org. Jodie loved working with these remarkable women serving in this capacity.

The family (and Jodie) wishes to thank so many people for the kindness and support during her Center, at McGraw Hospice and Kim Popovich as her senior advocate.

Hardage-Giddens Chapel Hills Funeral Home is proud to serve the family.