Jo Ann Reynolds Grayson

Funeral services celebrating the life of Jo Ann Reynolds Grayson, 78, will be held In Shreveport, LA, at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 15, 2023, at Rose-Neath Southside Chapel with Bro. Steve Gilley officiating. Interment will follow at Centuries Memorial Park. Visitation with the family will be on Thursday, September 14, 2023, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

Jo Ann was born on June 22, 1945, in Taylor, AR. As a young child, she would sit on the front porch with her toy cars while counting the real cars on their way home from the paper mill. During her elementary years, Jo Ann wasn’t the biggest fan of the lunch menu so the considerate cafeteria staff would often make her a mayonnaise sandwich to enjoy. Also, during her youth, she enjoyed playing basketball and being a member of the Springhill High School 4H for which she was selected to attend a 4H conference in Little Rock.

Among her early jobs, she worked at Lumberjack Café with her sister and at KBSF radio station. While working at the Lumberjack Café, she quickly moved on after spilling a tray full of coffee cups on a customer. After graduating at the age of 16, she bravely moved to a boarding house in Shreveport, where she attended business school, and later worked at Equifax. Eventually, Jo Ann worked at Probation and Parole from which she retired as office manager.

Jo Ann came to know the Lord at an early age, and she was a long-time member of Calvary Baptist Church. She was a Sunday school and Bible Drill teacher for many years, brought her children up in the church, and she lead each of her children to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

Jo Ann was a room mother and Cub Scout den mother for her children. She made it a priority to attend their honor’s assemblies, performances, and plays. It was a joy of hers to watch her kids and grandkids grow in their skills and perform in dance and piano recitals, singing, sports games, and band competitions. One of her favorite past times was traveling. She loved to go to new places and experience new things with her family. She made it her goal to visit every state in her lifetime and came very close to accomplishing it. Some of her favorite trips were Mount Rushmore, Cheyenne, New York City, Hawaii, and California. Her favorite places were Orange Beach, Alabama, and Branson, Missouri, where she went often.

Above all else, she enjoyed time spent with her family especially her precious grandchildren. She absolutely adored her granddaughters and grandson and would do anything to make them feel happy and loved. They could always count on Mimi to show up for them (often with a surprise) and make everything even better.

Jo Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Elmer Grayson, Jr.; parents, Georgie Bertie Reynolds and John Foney Reynolds; sisters, Betty and Lois; brothers, John Charles and Jackie Ray. She is survived by sons, Scott Grayson and wife, Jennifer, of Bossier City, LA, Brent Grayson of Shreveport, LA, and Corey Grayson of West Haven, UT; daughter, Julie Grayson Redmon and husband, Matthew, of Bossier City, LA; grandchildren, Alexis Grayson, Ethan Redmon, Ryleigh Ann Redmon, Avery Grayson, and Grayson Elizabeth Redmon, all of Bossier City, LA; sister, Evelyn Hammontree. Jo Ann is also survived by a multitude of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Honoring Jo Ann as pallbearers will be Bill Grayson, Huey Hammontree, Brandon McClelland, and Steve Reynolds.