Jo Ann Algermissen

Algermissen, Jo Ann Hudson award winning author and educator, died November 20, 2009 peacefully at home in Smithville, TX. She was 67. She will be dearly missed by her husband, Henry C. Algermissen, son, Henry Hank Algermissen of Austin, TX, daughter, Jayne Rhodes, and two granddaughters, Jaq and Katie Rhodes of Houston, TX. She is the daughter of deceased, Frank Alden Hudson, III and Lucille Ann Southern. She is also proceeded in death by her brother, Frank Alden Hudson, IV. Surviving , are step-mother Celeste Hudson-Quartell and sister, Jane Hudson Norman of Georgetown, TX; and brother John Jack Winthrop Nutting Hudson, of Milton, GA and a large family. She was known as a steel magnolia that lit up a room with her gorgeous smile and a hearty laugh. If you had a problem on your mind, she was the first to listen and help you come up with a plan. She shared her intellect without making you feel inferior and she gave the best hugs. All of these things were represented in the 50 humorous novels she penned that have brought joy to many throughout the world, under her pen names of Anna Southern, Anna Hudson and JoAnn Algermissen. Her novels won numerous awards for Harlequin, were translated into multiple languages and she was nominated for a lifetime of achievement by Romance Times. Jo Ann received her undergraduate's degree at Lindenwood College and Master's at Northeast Missouri State University. As an educator, she marched the picket line for educator rights in Hazelwood. In Texas, she taught in the Bastrop and Smithville school districts teaching English, History and the Gifted and Talented. As always, she inspired both students and faculty alike. Students looked at her as a teacher, mother and moral compass. She took all of her many roles to heart and was the springboard to greatness for many. Cards may be sent to her husband, at 380 Young School House Road, Smithville, TX.