Gladys Charlene "Jo" George Meade

Glady Charlene “Jo” George Meade was born February 10, 1943—the youngest daughter of three to John X. George and Jessie Carver in St. Louis, Missouri. Jo was the youngest sister of Sandra Ford and the late Cede Craft. Jo married Frank Meade on June 9, 1961, in Ellington, Missouri. Jo was a stay-at-home wife and then a mother in the beginning years. Jo and Frank had their first child, Danny Meade, the following year. The young family eventually moved to St. Louis, where Frank went to work for Chevrolet and Jo continued to work at home raising their son. Within two years, they added Tammy to the family, rounding out the foursome. Jo and Frank would eventually return to what Frank called “the country,” better known as Eminence, Missouri. Frank took night classes in St. Louis and eventually became a barber in Eminence. Within a few years, he opened his shop in Winona, and the family moved again. Due to the transition from crew cuts to men wearing ponytails, the barber business was lean and difficult to support his family. Jo took charge and began to look outside the home for work. Her first job was at a widget factory in Eminence. With help from her mother-in-law, Jewell Meade, she taught herself how to operate a sewing machine and found work at Angelica, the smock factory. After a couple of years, Jo and Frank decided to move to St. James, where Frank began working as a plumber and electrician, and Jo started working in various garment factories. As an entrepreneur, she decided to open OJ’s Custom Sewing in the late 70s. Jo made clothes and alterations for the community until the late 80s. Once again, she schooled herself in the art of Real Estate, and as she said, she was selling Phelps County, one yard at a time! Jo flourished in her real estate adventures until the late 90s. Jo and Frank were the dutiful grandparents and needed to be close to all of them. They then moved to Mena, Arkansas, where Frank put his skills to work as a plumber and electrician. Jo decided that her real estate calling was not what it once was in Missouri, so she found her next adventure in a surplus grocery store that she operated until the early 2000s, when she had reached retirement age. Enjoying her time as a grandmother and now a great-grandmother affectionately being called GG. In 2015, after Frank's passing, she lived briefly in their home in Mena. Jo then traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, where she stayed with Tammy and her husband, Greg. Jo sold the house she and Frank had built in Mena and started her next chapter of life. In Jo’s final years, she was to be visited by her son Danny, her grandkids, and great grandkids, and a few along the way. The song Crowded Table" by The Highwomen, which is about a crowded table, explains one of the most enjoyable moments of her final years. Nothing brought more joy than having holidays and special occasions with the table full of family and friends. We liked to joke with her that she was a cat with nine lives. She had repeatedly defied the odds with miraculous recoveries in recent years. But it was time to go, and she always knew when to exit. Jo passed in the home she shared with her daughter Tammy and her husband Greg at her side. Jo was preceded in Death by her husband Frank Meade, grandson Nathan Meade, sister Cede Craft, parents John X. George and Jessie Stoneburger. Jo leaves behind her son, Danny Meade, of Mena, Arkansas, her son Michael Meade, her daughter-in-law Sophie, and her sons Dylan and Levi; daughter, Tammy Vaughn, husband Greg Vaughn of Fort Worth, Texas; grandchildren, Katrina Rowe and husband Landon and daughters Katie & Kilee of Centerton AR, Seth Stewart, wife Bex Stewart Delilah, Esaw, and Charlotte of Alma AR, Shelby Evans husband Zack Evans and sons Collin and Thatcher, of Fort Worth TX and Myranda Hawkins and spouse Tadarious and daughters Penelope and Adeline of Bryan TX; sister, Sandra Ford, of Columbia, MO; a host of nieces and nephews from both sides of the family. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 1:00 PM at the St. James Chapel of the James & Gahr Mortuary. A visitation will be held at the Chapel prior to the service from 11 AM until service time. Following the service Jo will be laid to rest at the St. James Cemetery. Grief is not a burden to be hidden. It is not a weakness to be ashamed of. It is the deepest proof that love existed, that something beautiful once touched your life. So let yourself feel it. Let yourself mourn. Let yourself remember.

Gladys Charlene "Jo" George Meade

February 10, 1943 - April 18, 2025

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Gladys Charlene "Jo" George Meade

February 10, 1943 - April 18, 2025

Obituary Notification

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information