Joanne Kathryn Cain passed away April 19, 2019 in Tallahassee, Fla., just days after her 90th birthday.
She was a resident of Fernandina Beach from 2000 to 2016 and an active member of Memorial United Methodist Church. Jo was the middle of the three daughters of Wallace and Violet Parke and grew up in Kirkland and DeKalb, Ill., where her father worked as a teacher, principal, and school superintendent. She married Kenneth Cain, her high school sweetheart, in 1950, and the Cain family moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1956 to escape the winters of Illinois.
Although her main occupation was raising five children on a schoolteacher’s salary, she did work at times as a substitute teacher, kindergarten teacher, and similar positions. Her higher education was interrupted by her early and frequent contribution to America’s Baby Boom, but she completed her college degree in home economics at the age of 50. Throughout her married life, she and her family traveled and camped extensively around the U.S., and in 1983, she and her husband drove and camped from Fort Lauderdale to Alaska and back in their biggest adventure. In later years, she also traveled to Europe, Asia, and Africa.
She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and follower of Jesus Christ. Seamstress, volunteer, camper, hiker, tennis player, and bridge player were just some of her hobbies through the years, and she will be missed greatly by her family and friends.
Her husband of 53 years predeceased her in 2004. She is survived by her five children, Kenneth Jr. (Eliza) of Mexico, Gary (Cheryl) of Gainesville, Fla., Richard of Fernandina Beach, Doug of Sandy Ridge, N.C., and Kathy Drake (Dan) of Tallahassee. She is also survived by eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.