Mary Jo Neal

Mary Jo (Jarvis) Neal, born in Ft. Worth, TX, December 23, 1937, passed away determined and peacefully at home on May 19, 2023 at the age of 85 after a year of grieving the loss of her love, Jack Roland, the prior June and battling through subsequent months of treatment for endometrial cancer. Looking forward to returning to her active life after a month of remission in March, her body had other plans for her. Her strong will asserted itself a final time to meet Jack and her God, passing only four days after entering hospice. She was survived by her four children until August 10, when her eldest son, Joe (wife, Sarah; children, Mary and Hank), passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer, in Detroit. Her surviving three children and grandchildren, Helen (Justin Dick; Orion and Haven), Tom, and Jack (Elise; Samantha and Matthew) Neal, grieve this double loss with extended family members. Mary Jo was preceded in death by her husband, Jack R. Neal; parents, Lillian and Joe Jarvis, and sister Elizabeth Ann 'Lith Ann' Mackey. Mary Jo credited Our Lady of Victory Academy in Ft. Worth with her strong academic and Catholic foundation. Her beloved teacher nuns admitted two Black girls to the school in 1953 and to her horror her father disenrolled her to finish her secondary education at Ft. Worth's (segregated) Paschal High where she graduated. This pivotal shift, among other early experiences, led her to champion causes of equality while keeping many traditional life choices. A first-generation college graduate, North Texas State University-Denton awarded her a B.S. in secondary education Mathematics and English. After meeting Jack on a blind date in Tulsa, she moved to and taught in Tulsa at Edison (now) Preparatory School. After their December 1960 marriage - they both counted, in a private joke, their months not years of marriage which ended in month 737 - she left teaching in 1961 to raise the growing family's three children (in three years), with the youngest's arrival completing the family in 1967. She returned to teaching only through occasional private tutoring as the family grew, helping Jack in the growth of their company, Metric, Inc. (oil/gas measurement specialization), and moving to Verdigris, OK in 1970 beginning her active involvement in church and civic efforts. Over the years, with more free time, her volunteering took on leadership roles, serving as president, League of Women Voters (LWV) of Metro Tulsa; state president and board member, LWV Oklahoma; president, Northeast District Garden Club; president, Oil Capitol Unit of the National Association of Parliamentarians; vice president and parliamentarian, Oklahoma State Garden Club; parliamentarian, Pilot Club International; charter member and first historian, Oklahoma Native Plant Society; founding member, Verdigris Parent/Teacher Organization; docent, Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art; and, lector at St Cecilia and Resurrection Catholic churches. She also enjoyed the fellowship of others through membership in the OSU Extension State Advisory Council, Diocesan Pastoral Council-Tulsa, Tulsa Council of Federated Garden Clubs, Rogers County Historical Society, Lynn Lane and Claremore Garden Clubs, Pilot Club of Claremore, and her treasured Sanctuary and Monos prayer groups. She even enjoyed stints as Girl and Boy Scout leader when her children were young. Once Jack retired, they both traveled the world, fulfilling another of Mary Jo's lifelong goals; visiting Antarctica, Ireland, Scotland, Panama Canal, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand/Australia, Russia and Europe. A passionate Tulsa World letters-to-the-editor writer, she shared her opinions and Catholic faith: that "the Church is the people, not the hierarchy," that prayer is powerful, that Catholics do read the Bible, that God is also a she/her, that women should be ordained as priests, that priests should be able to marry, and; that reproductive choice is an individual's decision. Mary Jo supported a range of humanitarian causes including but not limited to the National Catholic Reporter, Jewish Voice for Peace, Clarehouse, The Peace House, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Tulsa Metro Ministries, and Women's Ordination Conference. Services to celebrate a good life with friends and family will be held September 12, 5:30 pm prayer service followed by reception; and, September 13, 10 am funeral mass, Church of the Resurrection. For those wishing to remember her efforts in life, please make a donation to Tulsa's Neighbor for Neighbor, Tulsa Garden Club, League of Women Voters of Metro Tulsa or Church of the Resurrection Social Concerns Committee. Link for Joseph Neal's obit: https://www.desmondfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Joseph-Walter-Neal?obId=28678609#/obituaryInfo Moore Southlawn Funeral Home 918-663-2233

Mary Jo Neal

December 23, 1937 - May 19, 2023