Jo Ann Jo Kirkpatrick Jo Ann Kirkpatrick Hickey

She was the older of Lillian’s and Ivan’s two daughters. She started her education in a one room school

house with her younger sister Beth Kirkpatrick Wiley. Grace Lee Kirkpatrick Moses, her aunt, was their

teacher. After a few years, Jo and Beth began attending school in town. Jo sailed through her school

years, skipping a number of grades along the way. She graduated from University of Oklahoma with a

B.S. in Pharmacy. She was a member of the Rho Chi Society, an academic honor society in pharmacy,

and the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. While attending OU, she met her future husband, Pat Hickey, a

NROTC midshipman who graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

Jo and Pat were married shortly before their graduation on May 31, 1947. After graduation she

received her Pharmacy License and they moved to Warren, Ohio where she worked as a Pharmacist for

several years until their first child was born. This was the first of many moves as Pat returned to active

duty in the Navy at the outset of the Korean War. Jo was amazing, moving every 2 years from Ohio to

California, Maryland, Hawaii, Virginia and Rhode Island without missing a beat. Her three girls, Diane,

Karen and Patty were all born in different states. After Pat retired from the Navy, Jo “held down the

fort” and kept things running while he attended graduate school full‐time in another state.

Jo was a gifted seamstress, an avid reader, and a tireless volunteer first through the Navy and later

through the First Presbyterian Church of Annandale helping those in need. Through her work with the

Circle at the Church, she made puppets for the sick children at Fairfax Hospital, visited patients at St.

Elizabeth and Leewood Nursing Home, drove seniors to the doctors or took food to those in need

through the Annandale Christian Community in Action.

As her children grew up, her interests expanded. After overcoming her fear of water, Jo learned how to

swim and became a dedicated swimmer, swimming up to a mile a day. She and Pat purchased a sail

boat and spent many enjoyable hours exploring the Chesapeake Bay and sailing on the Potomac River.

But family was always her first priority. She thrived in her role as Grammy, making clothes, knitting

booties (that stayed on) for 11 grandchildren and 3 grandnieces. Staying close to her mother Lillian

Kirkpatrick, her mother‐in law Etta Hickey and her sister Beth, Jo spanned the distance between by

frequent visits and daily phone calls. Whether it was the role of wife, mother, sister, daughter,

grandmother or friend, Jo was and always will be amazing. Jo died on January 12, 2012 with Pat by her

side at Fairfax Hospital. She will be sorely missed, leaving a legacy behind of grace, humor and love.

She is survived by her husband, Pat Hickey, her sister Beth Wiley, her three daughters and their spouses,

Diane and Joe Giardina, Karen and Jim Klak, Patty and John Roberts and their 11 grandchildren, Michael,

Suzanne, Jamie and his wife Christine, Elizabeth, Mathew, Fenner, Taylor, Lizzie, John, Dana and David,

as well as her nephew John Wiley and his children Sarah, Jodi, and Missy and her son Stephen.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to First Presbyterian Church of Annandale. Celebration of Life will

be Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 11:00am at First Presbyterian Church of Annandale 7610 Newcastle Dr.

Annandale, Virginia 22003.