Our Sympathies extended to the families of... Jo Ann Ellingsworth
Jo Ann (Scott) Ellingsworth, daughter of John & Eulalla (Woodhouse) Scott, was born on December 3, 1934, in Stone County, Missouri. She was their fourth child, following Betty Lou, Tiny, and Eddie, and preceding Jerry, Patsy, Larry, Bobby, and Cindy.
On the school bus in the fourth grade she first saw the curly-haired kid whom she decided then and there was the love of her life. In 1952, she graduated Galena High School, and on September 13, 1952, she married that kid, Doyle ‘Curly’ Ellingsworth, and they raised four children: Kathy, Sherry, Doug, and Kay.
Jo Ann’s favorite things were many, but first and foremost was following Curly wherever life led them, and enjoying every moment of it all. They lived in five states in the first six months they were married. Their first two children were born in Aurora, Missouri while they lived in rural Stone County for a brief time, and the younger two were born in Lodi, California, when they settled in Sacramento for several years. They moved their family back home to Missouri for a couple of years before moving to Holdenville,Oklahoma where they pastored the United Pentecostal Church, now Heritage Rock Church. Her heart was in her husband’s ministry, and July will mark the 50th year of their pastorate of Heritage Rock Church.
Jo Ann loved church, and served in nearly every role available to a dedicated servant of the Lord, cleaning and scrubbing, teaching classes, leading women’s groups. She loved children and had a special gift in caring for them. For 13 years she managed Kid Quarters day care center in Holdenville, and very much enjoyed helping to raise Little People she considered to be some of the world›s finest.
She adored her husband and children and her home was filled with love that was very nearly tangible. She was an average cook in general, but when it came to fried chicken, apple pie, potato soup,
and the best Mexican food ever, she was the absolute best. She was very good at sewing, quilting,
all kinds of creative needlework and home decor; she was just as good at helping her husband build
or remodel and furnish a home, from covering the walls to upholstering the furniture, and just about everything in between. She was as close with her husband’s family as she was with her own, and was overly fond and proud of them all, a trait she passed on to her children so that they deeply cherish their family and heritage. In her lifetime she has been a source of comfort and encouragement to many people in various places, particularly where she lived in Missouri, California, and Oklahoma. Her years were spent trying to live the best life she could, and occasional failures never kept her from trying again daily.
During the last year of her life, Jo Ann enjoyed going for drives around the Oklahoma countryside with Curly, and occasionally in her beloved Missouri hills with her sister, Cindy. In the final months she was with us, she continually expressed her desire to go home, and she finally got to go there on Friday, April 16, 2021.
She is that pearl of great price, that woman whose worth is far above rubies, and as her family, we feel blessed beyond measure that she is ours.
She is preceded in death by her parents, siblings Betty Lou, Eddie, Jerry, and Patsy, and numerous other family members.
She is survived by her husband of 68 years and 7 months, Doyle ‘Curly’ Ellingsworth, of the home; four children: Kathy Fisher (Kevin), Sherry Ellingsworth, Doug Ellingsworth (Anita), Kay Wilbourn (Kent); seven grandchildren: Stella Barksdale (Jonathan), Ryan Scott (Brittani), Jana Jackson (Clay), Kayla Ellingsworth, Jonathan Ellingsworth, Tyler Wilbourn, and Katelin Wilbourn; six great-grandchildren: Jessica, Levi, Judah, Bella, Jude, and Bennett; two sisters and two brothers: Tiny, Cindy, Larry, and Bobby; six sisters-in-law and three brothers-in-law: Fran, Jean, Betty Jo, Treva, Della, Carol, Paul, Dee, and Jerry; numerous other family members and a host of friends.
Local memorial services were held Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 7:00 p.m. at Heritage Rock Church in Holdenville. A visitation was held beforehand.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, April 24, 2021, 2:00 p.m. at Cross Roads Church in Galena, Missouri, with interment at Nolan Cemetery.
