Jo Ann Eddy Somers – Obituary

by Lynn McMillen
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Jo Ann Eddy Somers, 73, died peacefully at her Huntsville, Alabama home at 9:00 PM on July 11, 2018.  She was born January 25, 1945 to Richard and Elsie (Fogus) Eddy in Nashville, Tennessee.  She was a 1963 graduate of Cohn High School in Nashville and was the only female to graduate from the School of Engineering at Vanderbilt University in 1967.  She was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon Engineering Honor Societies while enrolled.  Jo was married for 52 faithful years to Richard Earl Somers of Murfreesboro, Tennessee and has lived in Huntsville since 1971.  She had an accomplished career as a civil engineer in the Huntsville community, serving in multiple capacities.  At one time she was the engineer of record for 50% of the residential development projects in Madison County; her biggest being Hampton Cove.  She had served as the first City Engineer for the City of Madison and worked for the City of Huntsville Traffic Engineering department.  Jo had ownership in multiple engineering companies over her career.  She was active with the American Society of Civil Engineers and was elected as the first female president of the Alabama chapter in 1980.  She won multiple awards, including the 2000 Outstanding Engineer Award presented by the Alabama Branch of Associated General Contractors.  She was an accomplished artist whose oil paintings decorated her home.  One of her greatest passions was travel.  She has taken scores of trips from Bhutan to Bali, Chile to China, Shanghai to Spain, and many places in between.

She is survived by husband Rick, sons Richard Andrew (Karen Borski) of Huntsville and Robert Jason of Savannah, GA, and grandchildren Richard Hayden, Samuel Jason, Zoe Lee, Maxwell Fox, Madeleine Augusta and Cora Elizabeth.  She always had a ready smile, a listening ear, a happy disposition, and a heart full of unconditional love for everyone; she will be missed by hundreds of friends and relatives.

The visitation is 5:00 to 8:00 PM Sunday, July 15, at Berryhill Funeral Home.  Services will be at 11:00 AM Monday, July 16, at Berryhill with internment immediately following at Maple Hill Cemetery.

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