Mama Detectives
The wise homeschooling mama is a detective. She is always on the lookout for her children’s strengths. As she watches, she encourages and nourishes those strengths.
At our friend Jo’s funeral, one of her longtime friends talked about her exuberant personality. They met in third grade. He said she was already like that way back then. When Jo’s sister Geraldine wrote her tribute, she revealed the seeds of Jo’s gifts and talents which were already evident when she was a very little girl. She wrote specifically about her hair styling talents and her singing.
A great joy of Jo’s life was singing! She was always a part of an acapella group, one being the Starlighters who performed for community events and funeral services. She was a member of Cookeville Mastersingers for nearly twenty years. With them she performed at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Normandy Beach U.S. Cemetery in France, Lincoln Center in New York, various cathedrals in Austria, and at Carnegie Hall.
Jo completed first and second grades at Pacific Elementary School, a country school not far from Roaring River. There her love of performing began when she introduced a Christmas program at age five. She completed grades 3 through 8 at Gainesboro Elementary where she continued developing her singing talent. She performed in school plays as “A Little Princess” and as Cinderella.
After high school graduation, Jo obtained her state license to become a beautician. Then later in life, she decided to go get her teaching degree. She graduated from Tennessee Technological University in 1991 with a BS degree in education to teach high school English. But she decided she was happiest working in her special beauty shop in her home.
Her work in Jo’s Beauty Shop started by cutting her sisters’ hair. As a very young girl, no older than four or five, she would brush and style her mother’s long hair at the end of each day. She perfected her craft by cutting and giving perms to her four sisters. This was the beginning of her life’s profession. She has touched many lives and offered encouragement and love as she cut, colored, curled, and styled friends and neighbor’s hair in Jo’s Beauty Shop.
The last time Jo sang in public was at Carnegie Hall on Mother’s Day. Mastersingers from Cookeville joined with another chorus to sing Jubilate Deo by Dan Forrest, which features a portion of Psalm 100 in different languages. What a beautiful way to enter His gates.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100