Funeral service for Mrs. JoAnne Owen White, age 94, of Fayetteville, TN will be held at 1pm on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at Higgins Funeral Home with Donnie Browning officiating. Burial will follow at Blanche Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be from 11am until 1pm on Saturday at Higgins.
JoAnne was born November 4, 1928, in the Coldwater community of Lincoln County, TN to the late Grover Cleveland and Lillie Sue Bryan Owen. She was a 1944 graduate of Blanche High School and went on to obtain a degree from Cumberland College, and her master’s in Library Science from Middle Tennessee State University. Mrs. White was a devoted educator. She taught English and was librarian for many years in the Lincoln County School System. She began her career at Flintville High School, then on to Blanche High School, Central High School, Boonshill High School, and finally Central Junior High School before she retired in 1991. She also taught English as a second language in night classes, as well as adult GED classes. JoAnne was a member of the Senior Round Dozen, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Retired Teachers Association. She loved her church family at First Baptist Church in Fayetteville, especially being part of the YY’s and delivering for Meals on Wheels. Mrs. White passed away September 18, 2023, surrounded by family at Lincoln Manor in Fayetteville.
Survivors include her daughters, Donna Jo (Bill) Sharp, Sonya Bryant, and Catherine Sgambati; grandchildren, Patricia Bryant Tapp, Amanda Bryant (Justin) Edwards, Brooke Sgambati (Peter Vizcarrondo), Rebecca Sgambati (Roger Eason), Michael Sharp, and David Sharp; great-grandchildren, Savannah Tapp, Joe Sharp, Blair Boldt, Emil Eason, Isabel Vizcarrondo; and brother, Harold Douglas Owen. In addition to her parents Mrs. White was preceded in death by her brother Donald Gilbert Owen and his wife Wanda; sister-in-law, Jeannette Owen; and sons-in-law, William M. Bryant, Jr. and Richard Sgambati.
Higgins Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Mrs. JoAnne Owen White.
