ELLIS, Jo Ann Faulkner, formerly of Columbus, Mississippi, passed away Tuesday the 11th of August at Baldwyn Nursing Facility in Baldywn, Mississippi. She was 72. Mrs. Ellis was born the 16th of July 1937, in Montgomery, Alabama, the daughter of Evelyn Marie Wilkinson Faulkner and the late Charlie May Faulkner. She graduated in1955 from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery and married her high school sweetheart, Ozrow Alton Ellis, in 1956. During the span of Oz's Air Force career, she lived with her family in California, Alabama, Japan, and Texas before settling in Columbus in 1972. She enjoyed spending time with family, to whom she was a very loving and unselfish wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, and sister. She loved playing the piano both at home and church, and served as church pianist at Janlee Baptist Church of Burkburnett, Texas, and Friendship Baptist Church of Columbus. She also taught Sunday school, worked in the nursery at church, and loved to garden. She was a member of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church. At the time of her injury in 1994, she was employed by Eka Nobel, having previously worked at GAB Insurance, the cable company, and Health Clubs of Columbus. In addition to her father, Mrs. Ellis is preceded in death by her husband, Ozrow "Oz" Alton Ellis, Jr.; brother in law, William "Bill" Connelly; and great grandson, Elijah Christopher Ellis. She is survived by her mother, Evelyn Marie Wilkinson Faulkner of Montgomery, Alabama; three children: son, Michael Ellis and his wife Denise, their sons Christopher and Daniel Ellis, and Christopher's wife Hannah, all of Huntsville, Alabama; son, Steve Ellis of Columbus, Mississippi, and his daughter Stephanie Ellis, of Birmingham,Alabama; and daughter, Angela Ellis Daniel and her children Meredith, Chad, and Rich Daniel, all of Beckley, West Virginia; sister, Ruth Duffee and her husband Clarence of Montgomery, Alabama; two sisters in law: Paula Ellis Connelly and Alicia Ellis Wideman, and Alicia's husband John, all of Charleston, South Carolina. She is also survived by four nieces and nephews, as well as other family members and friends. The visitation will be held Sunday the 16th of August 2009 from 2pm to 4pm at Lowndes Funeral Home in Columbus, Mississippi. The funeral service will be at 4 pm, with Brother Tim Williams officiating. Burial will follow at the cemetery of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Columbus with Lowndes Funeral Home directing. Pallbearers will be Robert Duffee, Charles Duffee, Richard Dennis, Jimmy Wilkinson, Jimmy Cole, and Tom Green. Honorary pallbearers will be staff of Baldwyn Nursing Facility, Dr. Brian Friloux, Dr. Newt Harrison, and Tom Pritchard. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Baldwyn Nursing Facility, c/o Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi, 830 S. Gloster, Tupelo, MS 38801. Please make checks payable to Health Care Foundation of North Mississippi. Donations may also be made to Palmer Home for Children at PO Box746, Columbus, MS 39703.
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Funeral Home: none
Publication Date: 08/14/2009