Jo Anna Robertson Pound passed from her earthly life on March 25 with her children by her side, due to complications of a fall. She was born February 15, 1930, in Emory, TX, the only child of Otto Rayford and Juanita (Kennemer) Robertson. Growing up in the close-knit Smyrna Community, Jo Anna excelled in school, first at New Holmes school where she skipped two grades. She went on to graduate at age 16 from Emory High School.
After high school she moved to Dallas and went to work as a switchboard operator for Southwestern Bell. She married Cletus Ray Pound on January 15, 1951. They settled first in Oak Cliff, then in East Dallas, before buying a home in Garland in 1956. They raised their two children, Ginger and Dale, in Garland where they lived for many years, attending St. Philip’s United Methodist Church.
Jo Anna held many jobs as her children were growing up, building on her telecommunications experience, but she built a career that she loved at Collins Radio, later known as North American Rockwell, supervising the switchboard and later managing a wide range of communications activities. She retired in 1991, and she and Ray returned to the family farm in Emory to help care for her mother. Health challenges brought them back to the Sachse-Rowlett area in 2014 to be near their children. Jo Anna found a new church home and network of friends at Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church in Sachse, and especially with the ladies of the Faith Circle.
Jo Anna was a gifted seamstress, who sewed all of her daughter’s many dance costumes as well as creative Halloween costumes for both her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed quilting, and her quilts were works of art, winning ribbons at both the State Fair of Texas and the Rains County Fair.
Her passion for family kindled an interest in genealogy. She was active for many years in the Rains County Genealogical Society, where she served in many leadership roles. She was proud to trace her family lines back six generations and to be a fourth generation Texan.
Jo Anna was a strong supporter of the Smyrna Cemetery in Emory, where much of her family lies in rest. She served many years on its governing board and shepherded the process of its incorporation as a Texas nonprofit.
She was predeceased by her parents, her husband, and her granddaughter, Elizabeth Pound. She is survived by her daughter Ginger Pound Nichols and husband Geoff Nichols of Rowlett; son Dale Pound, wife Sherri Hurley Pound and sons Ridge and Hunter of McKinney; and grandson Austin Pound and partner Barbara Kennedy of Plano.
Due to Covid precautions, there was a small private service for the family, with interment at Smyrna Union Cemetery in Emory, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation in Jo Anna’s memory to Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church, 3015 Pleasant Valley Rd., Sachse, TX 75048 or to the Smyrna Cemetery Association, PO Box 563, Emory, TX 75440.
Paid obituary