Jo Neal Gressette PhD

Jo Neal Griffeth Gressette went to heaven on February 16, 2026. She was born May 25, 1946, and grew up in Georgia, always surrounded by family from Columbus, Athens, and Fayetteville. She graduated from Fayette County High School and earned her degree from the University of Georgia in 1968, remaining a dedicated Bulldog fan for life. She continued her education with a Masters from Valdosta State and her doctorate from Georgia State University.

She married James "Jim" Griffeth, Sr. in 1967 where they made their life together in Statenville, Georgia and then Ashburn, Georgia, and following his passing in 1998, she later married Douglas Gressette in 2015, and they lived in Stuart, Florida and Summerville, South Carolina.

Jo retired as an Assistant Principal dedicated to curriculum development at Tift County High School in Tifton, Georgia after more than 30 years of service in education spanning Tift County Schools, Turner County Schools, and Echols County Schools. She also served as an adjunct professor at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. She also had the opportunity to teach for the United States Department of Education at conferences and special trainings in both Georgia and Washington DC. Jo was a dedicated advocate for public libraries, serving as board chairman of the Tifton-Tift County Library during its rebuilding, chairman of the Coastal Plain Regional Library System board, and a Library Board member in Stuart, Florida. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Ashburn, Georgia and a current member of the First Baptist Church of Stuart, Florida.

Jo made friends everywhere she went and embraced life with remarkable enthusiasm. She was a lover of the Palm Beach Symphony, a flower show judge with the National Garden Club, and a member of the Magnolia Garden Club of Tifton, Georgia and the Garden Club of Stuart, Florida. Jo also served as chairman of the Camellia District committee. She caught and released both a Blue Marlin and a White Marlin in the same year, mounted a trophy deer and a trophy ram, and joined the Stuart Sailfish Club on a two-week fishing trip to Cuba, where her team finished 20th out of approximately 100 boats. She was an avid golfer who loved playing with family and friends and a passionate supporter of youth - most especially through 4-H and FFA, cheering on her grandchildren's projects and competition shows. Jo was a board member of the Save Our Pets Foundation and treasurer of the Bradley-Goss Foundation.

Jo loved to travel. She and her husband logged over 120,000 miles in a motorhome across the United States and Canada and traveled abroad to countries from Scotland to China and many places in between.

Jo was predeceased by her mother, Joan Burkes Neal; her father, Charles Land; her stepfather, Ray V. Neal; her husband, James "Jim" Griffeth, Sr.; her brother Kim Neal, and her son, Harry Gressette.

She is survived by her husband, Douglas Gressette; her children, Laura Griffeth, James "Jamie" C. Griffeth, Jr. and his wife Holly, Billy Gressette and his wife Sara; her grandchildren, Tyler

Griffeth, Zachary Griffeth, Anna Gressette, Julia Gressette, Leila Gressette, June Gressette, and Clay Evans and his wife Michayla; and great-grandchildren Porter Evans and Pierce Evans. She is also survived by her brother Roger Neal and her sister Kathy Graham.

Funeral and burial services will be held at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Bowman, South Carolina, on February 22, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. A Celebration of Life will be Sunday, March 1st, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. at Stuart Yacht and Country Club in Stuart, Florida.

Condolences may be sent to her beloved husband, Douglas at 3594 SE Fairway East, Stuart, FL 34997.