JoAnne Elaine Jewell, 84, passed away Jan. 13, 2011, at her home in The Dalles, Ore. She was born March 6, 1926, in St. Paul, Minn., to Neil and Josephine Grigware. When she was still an infant she moved with her parents to the Seattle/Puget Sound/Whidbey Island area.

Neil and Josephine owned and operated a resort on Whidbey Island for many years while living near Freeland. JoAnne graduated from Langley High School with the Class of 1943 and later attended the University of Washington. On Dec. 30, 1949, she married Lt. Frank Edgar Jewell, a Naval aviator from Tarrytown, N.Y. Mrs. Jewell enjoyed being a Navy wife, relocating with her husband as he was transferred to San Diego, Pensacola, and Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Oak Harbor. While living on the island, Jo and Frank (or “Ed” as she called him) welcomed a son, Michael, on Oct. 4, 1955. The family lived various places, including Idaho, Grand Isle, Louisiana and Sacramento as Ed worked civilian helicopter jobs. The Jewell family moved to The Dalles in August 1965. Jo worked at Columbia Park State Hospital, now Columbia Gorge Community College, from 1966 until the facility closed in 1975.

Jo and her son Mike looked after Ed through several years of illness until he passed too young in 1977 at age 53. Jo was active in the Moose Lodge and W.O.T.M. and also bartended at the lodge in the ‘70s and ‘80s. She also catered weddings.

Mrs. Jewell is survived by her son Michael, who cared for her during her illness and declining years, as well as relatives in the Seattle, Puget Sound and Whidbey Island areas. Family and friends are encouraged to contact Michael through Gardner Funeral Home, P.O. Box 390, White Salmon, WA 98672 or 509-493-1323.