Jo Ann Young

JoAnn Simmons Young, of Port Neches Texas, passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 18, 2025 at Provident Crossings Retirement Resort in Round Rock, Texas. She was born in Ft Worth, Texas on April 8, 1934. She was orphaned as a baby, but soon adopted by her Mom & Dad, Iva and CB Simmons. She was an only child and a local girl, raised in Florence Texas. Both her parents were educators, as were most of her aunts and uncles and most all their spouses. She was expected to join the family business and she did. She was popular in school, was the captain of the girls volleyball team, and valedictorian of her senior class. She married her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, James Atlas Young in August of 1953.
At that time, Jim was in business school at Baylor University in Waco and Jo was studying education at Southwestern University in Georgetown. Jim served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956, during the Korean Conflict. He went through Basic Training in California and they would spend the weekends like tourists exploring the coast. He was then assigned to Ft. Jackson, in South Carolina. On his discharge, they returned to Florence where Jim finished his degree in Accounting.
In the fall of 1956, they traveled to Lake Charles to visit Jim's sister and heard they were hiring at Texas US Chemical Company in Port Neches, and he had an interview one Friday morning. He was offered the job to start on Monday. They raised two children in their home they built in Port Neches, Patricia Lee Kolda and James Bennett Young. She was a stay at home Mom until her children were ready for kindergarten. While she was home, she finished her degree at Lamar University and started teaching. She would teach at the PNG ISD for 25 years and she was known as a patient and caring teacher who touched hundreds of children's lives.
In 1969, Jim was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and Jo became his caregiver until he passed in April 1984. She had a wide circle of friends and loved to travel. She joined a group of teachers every Easter to travel the world. But Jo was not a city girl, the loved the woods and travel to her favorite place, Estes Park Colorado every year for seven decades, sometimes with family or friends. She and her son would spend weeks hiking Rocky Mountain National Park or sitting by a mountain stream having a picnic.
In 2018, she decided to sell her home of 50 years and move to Round Rock to be closer to family. It was great timing as the covid pandemic would hit in 2020. She made many friends at Provident Crossings and lived there until her death. She is survived by her daughter, Patricia Lee Kolda and her husband Ronald Richard Kolda; her son, James Bennett Young. She was preceded in death by her parents, Iva & CB Simmons, and her husband James Atlas Young.
A gathering of family and friends will be held Thursday evening, January 23, 2025 at Beck Funeral Home in Austin between 6:00pm to 8:00 pm. A celebration of Jo's Life will begin at 10:00am, Friday, January 24, 2025 also at Beck Funeral Home. Interment will follow with immediate family only in attendance.
Jo loved and was loved and will be missed by everyone who knew her.
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