Jo Anne Macready Calhoun

The world, sadly, said goodbye to Jo-Anne Macready Calhoun on July 24, 2014 at the age of 90. Born May 8, 1924 in Dayton, Ohio, Jo-Anne was the eldest daughter of aviation pioneer, Colonel John Macready and Nellijay Macready.She was the loving and supportive mother to Sally Rogers (San Francisco, CA), John Calhoun (Santa Barbara, CA), Steve Calhoun (Angels Camp, CA), Barbra Calhoun (Sacramento, CA), Gena Calhoun (Yuba City, CA), and three grandsons; Robert Willinsky (Yuba City, CA), Eric Willinsky (Boise, Idaho), Chase Calhoun (Angels Camp, CA) and one great granddaughter, Rhianna Wilinsky (Yuba City, CA). Jo-Anne is also survived by her sister, Sally Wallace (Chico, CA), son-in-law, Tom Barkhouse (Meridian, CA), daughter-in-law, Dianne Czarnecki (Sacramento, CA), nephew, Jeff Liston (Mariposa, CA) and niece, Jean Lux (Mint Hill, NC). Jo-Anne was predeceased by her husband, Lewis Calhoun, of 57 years.Because of her father's military obligations, Jo-Anne attended four high schools in four years. She graduated from Pendleton H.S. (Oregon) and studied journalism at the University of Oregon, and was also a member of the Delta Gamma sorority at the University of Oregon. Jo-Anne, filled with a patriotic spirit and a strong conviction to give back, honorably served her country by enlisting in the United States Navy during World War 2.Jo-Anne retired from the Yuba County Welfare Department after twenty five years of service in 1987 where she made friends that would last a lifetime.Jo-Anne's strong sense of volunteerism earned her the title of Yuba-Sutter "Volunteer of the Year". She was a member of the Sutter County Sheriffs' volunteer patrol, a member of the Fremont Auxiliary "Pink Ladies", a member of the Sutter County Taxpayers Association, and very active in local political campaigns and volunteering in local voting booths during elections.Her many interests included bridge clubs, learning to speak Russian and Spanish, reading, traveling to places far away as Tahiti and Tunisia, and spending time at her family's ranch near Mariposa, CA. Her passion was flying airplanes as she owned her own airplane and would take her family on flights near and far to view the world from a different perspective. She was the first female inductee into the famed flying fraternity of the Order of Daedalian. Jo-Anne's legacy was the strength of love, independence, and the importance of family. Her greatest joy was her children and she was very proud that they are very close and greatly enjoy one anothers' company. Jo-Anne was a generous and selfless woman who always had a smile, even for strangers, and made the world a much better place by her presence. Jo-Anne's family would like to extend gratitude to Becca Knoop for her kindness to Jo-Anne over the past year. Friends are invited to a "Celebration of Life" gathering on Saturday, August 23, 2014 from 1:00pm- 4:00pm at Ruthie's restaurant (229 Clark Avenue, Yuba City, CA).