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Jo Anne Dray
In Memory of
Jo Anne
Dray (Persohn)
1941 - 2016
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Obituary for Jo Anne Dray (Persohn)


JO ANNE PERSOHN DRAY, 75

WELLSVILLE - God said, “We have been waiting for you”, as he took Jo Anne by the hand and led her home. Surrounded by her loving family, she went into a peaceful sleep and passed gracefully Thursday morning, November 3, 2016 at UPMC Shadyside Hospital, she was 75.

Born in East Liverpool, September 1, 1941, Jo Anne was the daughter of the late Joseph Perry and Dorothy Anne Ferguson Persohn. A lifetime area resident, she was a 1959 graduate of East Liverpool High School and was active with her class reunion committee. She also received her Paralegal Associates Degree from the former Ohio Valley Business College in 1990.

Jo Anne was an active member of Trinity Presbyterian Church and was involved in their annual Easter Pageant, loved singing in the Canticle Choir, Trinity Women,
Faith Circle, the Board of Trustees and she was a Deacon at one time.

She retired in 2006 from the Medina County Health Department as registrar and secretary to the health commissioner. Jo Anne most recently was a devoted school bus driver for the Beaver Local School District and she worked more than 55 years as a beautician at Millie’s Beauty Center.

Well known as a Band Mom, Jo Anne was very involved in the activities of her daughters, then doing the same with her grandson’s sports activities but had first and foremost been a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and friend. She was also a passionate Steeler fan.

Surviving are her two daughters, Kathleen Dray-Muscari, and her husband, Shawn, of East Liverpool, and Martha Dray of Wellsville, who lived with Jo Anne. She was a loving grandmother to her eight grandchildren, Joseph, Mara and Rylee Pine, Bryant Dray, and his companion Karen Martin, Heather Jordan, and her husband Johnny, Aaron Muscari, Ashley Muscari, and Lindsay Stroud, and her husband Kaleb. Her longtime companion, James Lewis, of East Liverpool, also survives.

There are also seven great-grandchildren. Braxton Stroud, a great-grandson, preceded her in death.

Jo Anne is also survived by her two sisters, Martha Marks of Leetonia, and Susan David, and her husband, Michael, of East Liverpool; as well as three brothers, John Persohn, and his wife, Donna, of Pleasantville, OH, Bill Persohn, and his wife, Bonnie, of Wellsville, and Tom Persohn, and his wife Pat, also of Wellsville.

Friends may visit at the Dawson Funeral Home on Sunday where the family will be present from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Rev. Dr. Stephen Cramer of the church will conduct a funeral service at 1:30 p.m. on Monday at Trinity Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow in Columbiana County Memorial Park after which family and friends will gather at the church for a continued time of fellowship.

Contributions may be made to: Trinity Presbyterian Church, 110 Maine Blvd, E. Liverpool, OH 43920; or Shriners Hospitals for Children, 3229 Burnet Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45229

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Jo Anne Dray (Persohn), please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.

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