JoAnn Marie Horton

JoAnn was born in Oakland, California, on April 30, 1943 to Jack and Meta Marie Watson, she passed away on November 30, 2022, at the age of 79. She graduated from Castlemont High School in 1960 and married the love of her life, Philip, Jr., January 13, 1961.

She is survived by her husband, Philip Jr., of 62 years; her two children, Philip III (wife Julie) & Kimberly (husband Mark) and her only grandchild, Hazel.

She absolutely loved Hazel more than anything. Some of her favorite moments were spending time with Hazel making jam. JoAnn's biggest joy in life was running her household along with her husband Phil and making sure her kids were well cared for. She did so much for everyone else, always putting herself last.

In the early years of child raising, JoAnn would volunteer for anything and everything related to school and activities of her children, forming committees or taking on various leadership roles such as Room Parent, Cub Scout Den Mother, Fremont Baseball Administrator, Soccer Mom, Snack Bar Organizer, Spaghetti Dinner/ Special Events Coordinator, various roles of Team Leadership and Organizing.

JoAnn was an original feminist in the 60's/70's, very active in fighting for woman's rights and equality for all. At the time, she was involved in her neighborhood church, Fremont Congregational, where she would initiate programs of awareness and acceptance and sang in the choir. One program in particular was an interfaith summer camp she co-founded where kids would spend time in different types of churches to gain awareness of other religions, lives and cultures. She spent her life proudly standing up for the rights and acceptance of all, regardless of sex, race, religion or sexual orientation.

She started her working career at the Newark School District where she worked in the Cafeteria so she could be working while her kids were in school! She was also co-owner of a family fabrication business, P&K Tool & Production, and was very active as a proud woman-owned business person. Her roles spanned from accounting and business management to successfully landing/negotiating key contracts in the 80's with Bay Area Rapid Transit, Sandia Laboratories and Lawrence Livermore Labs.

JoAnn also worked at Kaiser Hospital for over 20+ years until her retirement. She worked in the Administration Department providing & organizing research materials for Doctors and patients.

She was an amazing woman who loved her family very much and did anything and everything for them. She is also survived by her two sisters, Barbara Maroni and Jacqui Diaz (husband Loren) and their children Joe, Marie and Juliana.

One of the many incredible things she did was help any animal in need. She absolutely loved animals & had such a strong passion for them.

We feel an incredible loss and will miss her dearly. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Breast Cancer Society, The Jack Watson Industrial Arts Scholarship or the ASPCA for Animals.

We will miss you "Lucy" more than you can imagine. Rest assured we will make sure your "Ricky" is ok.

A Memorial Service will be held around her birthday at the end of April, 2023.