JoAnn Poole

JoAnn (Sterling) Poole, sixth child of Hilda and Williams Sterling, was born on March 30, 1930 and was 90 years old when she passed away on November 6, 2020.  She grew up with five sisters and two brothers:  Madge, Ruth, Mary, Ernestine, Wayne, Lyle and Amy.  Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi and Neighborhood friends were the focal point of her childhood day-to-day life.

JoAnn left home at the age of 21 to attend Mary Hardin Baylor College.  She met and married Dalton Poole in May, 1953 and graduated from MHB in August, 1954.  She taught kindergarten and first grade for 34 years in Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas and Colorado.  Teaching children how to read was her passion, and she gave nearly 1,000 children that gift.  After retiring from teaching, JoAnn worked with her husband and sons making handmade stoneware pottery in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, for more than 25 years.  She worshiped with fellow Christians at First Baptist Church and loved singing, watercolor painting, paper crafts, sewing and corresponding with friends she had treasured since her childhood.

JoAnn celebrated 67 years of marriage with Dalton and said her farewell to him in August of this year.  She was mother to two sons: Don and Jan Poole and Dean and Rebecca Poole.  She has 7 grandchildren, Amber, Jessica, Kendra, Michael, Nathan, Noah and Liam; and 5 great-grandchildren, Eden, Avalon, Nova, Riven and Vada.  She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Dalton, her son Don and six of her brothers and sisters: Madge, Mary, Ruth, Amy, Wayne and Lyle.

Graveside service has been changed to Cooper Funeral Home Chapel at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, November 28, 2020 at Tecumseh Cemetery with Reverend Larry Sparks officiating under the direction of Cooper Funeral Home of Tecumseh.  Please join the celebration of JoAnn’s life through Cooper Funeral Home’s Facebook page for live streaming of the service.