October 5, 1938 ~ August 14, 2024
85 Years Old
Obituary
Jo Sharon Putnam Spurlin walked peacefully into the arms of the Lord on August 14, 2024.
Jo was born in Winston-Salem North Carolina on October 5, 1938. The second child of Gladys Gibson and Ernest E. Putnam, and at the age of two, moved with her family to Baltimore, Maryland where she grew up.
It was in Baltimore that she developed her lifelong passions for painting, drawing, poetry, tennis, fashion, and above all, animals. Her Mother, Gladys, lost count of the number of rescues she brought home almost daily. Every creature, be it large, small, four legged or winged, found a warm welcome with Jo as she comforted them, and in many cases, even nursed them back to health.
After graduating from Brooklyn Park High School, she worked at Hochschild’s Department Store. Paying her own way through Junior College, she earned an associate’s degree in Secretarial and Clerical Studies. Jo was well versed in two types of stenography-Pitman and Gregg Shorthand, knew how to properly take dictation, and could type over one hundred words per minute. Equipped with such impressive skills, she entered the workforce as a legal secretary in Arbutus, in the same building where she met her future husband, Charles, at an after-work dinner. Six months later, on May 10, 1963, she married the love of her life at the First United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, Maryland.
In 1976, Jo, Charles and their two girls made the journey to Charles’ hometown of Nacogdoches. She immediately embraced her new East Texas home by joining First United Methodist Church where she taught Sunday School to preschoolers, participated in Bible study groups, and volunteered in the parish office.
Shortly after settling in Nacogdoches, she opened The Haberdashery, a high-end men’s clothing store which attracted a loyal following, both locally and from the surrounding area. Customers would travel from Dallas, Tyler, Shreveport, and Houston to be “styled’ by Jo. When this chapter ended, she switched gears and jumped into the education system in Nacogdoches, using her secretarial skills for NISD, first starting in Special Education at Brooks Quinn, then advancing to the Administrative Offices located in the EJ Campbell Building. Continuing this path, she began working at SFA as Administrative Assistant in the Title VII Office of the Education Department. After this, Jo was promoted as Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the College of Education, and finally, she was promoted as Administrative Assistant to the Vice President in the Office of Development where she stayed until her retirement at SFA. In total, Jo had devoted thirty years of service to education.
Although Jo was a working woman, her devotion to family was priority. A loving and guiding force, she raised her daughters to be independent, encouraged them to follow their passions, and was supportive of all their endeavors.
In her retirement years, she cherished spending time with friends and family, continued to serve her community and volunteered at the church. She loved reading, watching tennis, caring for her beloved dog Jacob, and sipping on a “good” cup of coffee.
Jo leaves behind a legacy of love, devotion, dedication, and keen sense of fashion. Her openness, generous spirit, straight talk, sense of humor, infectious smile, and pumpkin pie will be missed by all who knew her.
Jo is survived by her daughters, Adrienne (Jack) McKinney of New Gloucester, Amanda (Eric) Warwick of Houston; cherished grandsons, Nickolas and Christian Warwick, Aunt Judy Putnam of Waynesville, and by her nieces and nephews: Claudia (Tim) Divis of Chicago, Clark (Teresa) Smith of Corpus Christi, Zachary (Karen) Zanolli of Seattle, Claude (Nancy) Smith of Colleyville.
Jo Sharon was preceded in death by her husband Charles Spurlin, parents Gladys and Ernest Putnam, stepfather Leonard Wisniewski, sister Patricia Garnett, nephew Michael Garnett, niece Donna Garnett, fourteen uncles and aunts, and her numerous fur-babies.
A Visitation for Jo Sharon Spurlin will be held at Laird Funeral Home on Friday, August 23, 2024, 12-1pm, immediately followed by her Celebration of life, 1-2 pm.
In remembrance of Jo’s life and love, the family requests that any charitable donations be made in her name to Nacogdoches Animal Shelter or First United Methodist Church in Nacogdoches, TX.
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