Jo Ann Leone Eades

Jo Ann Eades, age 58, of Murphy, TX and formerly of Fairfield and Readington, NJ passed away peacefully at home on November 16th 2017.

Jo Ann (Leone) Eades was born in Belleville, NJ on September 2, 1959, the daughter of Joseph and Carmella (Tremari) Leone. She grew up in Fairfield, NJ with brother Joseph, sister Karen, and many beloved cousins nearby. All of these relationships became a source of strength for her as time went by.

She graduated from West Essex High School in 1977, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ, and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ.

Jo Ann began her professional career working as a Field and Project Manager at Perception Research Services in NJ. She often looked back on this job with very fond memories.

From there, she went on to work at AT&T in the marketing department. Not surprisingly, they recognized her value and promoted her quickly to manage a large group of market research analysts. Her motto of “work hard and play hard” made it fun for her team.

It was at AT&T where she met her future husband, Richard. They were married in 1995 in Fairfield, NJ.

Their first home was in Readington, NJ where their daughters were born; Alexis in 1997, and Allison in 2002. After taking a year off after each birth, she decided to “retire” early to be home with the girls full-time.

Jo Ann became very involved with their activities as a coach, and CCD teacher at the Catholic Church in Readington, NJ. She went on to become a substitute teacher at the public schools in both Readington, NJ and Murphy, TX.

Working with children as a teacher clearly brought a lot of joy to Jo Ann. She felt it was a true calling for her. More than anything else, she loved to help the kids learn to respect one another.

Jo Ann and her family moved to Murphy TX in June 2013 due to Richard’s job relocation. Through her work at the schools, friendships with fellow “transplants”, and her love of the warm weather, Jo Ann was able to really enjoy her time in Texas.

She is survived by her mother Carmella; husband, Richard; two daughters, Alexis and Allison; sister Karen, her husband John, their children Jessica and Sean; brother Joseph, his husband Ken; sister-in-law Valerie (Eades) Hoopes, her husband Brad, their children Heather and Zachary; and many beloved members of her extended family. Jo Ann was predeceased by her father, Joseph.