Jo Barrett died on February 2, 2026 at the age of 89. Jo leaves behind her husband of 68 years, Jack, her brother and sister in law, Dwight and Sherri, her three sons, Jeff, Tod and Tim, their wives, Pam, Sheila and Jenny, nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

 How come we don’t use the word sojourner more often. As a child I generally found it to be a skip over word in my reading of the Bible. Now as I reflect back on my Mothers life I realize the word, describing people who move from one place to another without really having an identified home, is an excellent description of my mother. The other words that I associate with my Mom is ‘foggy weather’.

 Mom’s life started in New Mexico in the midst of a very difficult economic time for our country. Her early years tracked from there to the central valley of California where she eventually landed long enough to finish her associates degree, begin work and get married. This early period of her life included many moves and an extraordinary amount of trials and uncertainly as her family worked to ‘make ends meet’. These experiences helped my mother develop the tremendous tenacity that became a big part of her character. It was also Mom’s first exposure to foggy weather. I have experienced fog myself but the stories I have heard of “Tule fog/zero visibility fog” provide me with a picture of a setting that evokes a type of fear you identify with deep respect. Having to travel in a world that required you to move without the luxury of seeing what is in front of you required extraordinary faith and extreme care! I strongly believe that these types of experiences not only built my mothers courage but also developed her prayer warrior faith. Mom trusted God with her life and she practiced prayer as the cornerstone of her existence. Mom believed that the first step in anything was prayer. You might not have known it but if you knew Jo she likely prayed for you. One of her most important legacies is that through her prayerfulness and generosity, she passed on her faith to her three boys and then onto her nine grandchildren….the greatest blessing/legacy that anyone could hope for. 

Mom and Dad started their married life in Visalia, CA and soon thereafter, moved to San Jose, CA where mom began her career at the Food Machinery Corporation. They enjoyed the birth of their three boys and the blessing of meeting many life long friends during the first 15 years of their marriage, which included a move to Livermore, CA. These friends played a key role in my parents developing into strong believers who love people well and cared for the people that God brought into their lives. 

A new work opportunity arose in Davis, CA in the early 1970’s and as any good sojourners would they said their sad goodbyes and moved on. They spent the next 50 years of their lives in Davis. Mom was involved in our church, playing the piano, singing in the choir, serving as a deaconess, feeding college students, helping to lead women’s bible studies and generally making friends wherever she went. As time continued she started her work in the Davis school district and once the Nugget market was opened near their home in South Davis she was a loyal and very friendly “nugget shopper”. The result of all this was Jo knew quite a few folks in Davis. If you met someone in the Davis area and mentioned Jo’s name, it wasn’t surprising to find they knew Mom. Near the end of their time in Davis mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease…..a very difficult part of mom’s journey. It was at this time that the difficult decision was made to once again move on to what was next. Tod and his wife Sheila graciously took on the challenge of walking closely with Mom and Dad through this final stage of their sojourn. They moved first to Denver, CO where Tod and Sheila were living. At this time, mom’s dementia finally got to the point where full-time care was required. Tod and his family then moved mom and dad to Bentonville, Arkansas where Mom surprised us all and took a very positive turn in her health and once again became a light in the memory care facility where she lived. Even though she would wake up each day not really knowing where she was or why she was there, she endeavored to share her big smile and her passion for encouraging the people around her. She was often described as a ‘light’ and an ‘encourager’ to the other residents and staff.

 Mom has now journeyed to her final home with her Lord Jesus Christ. We are thankful for her and will miss her dearly. We are reminded many times in scripture that our time here on this earth is temporary, brief, and ultimately, that this place is not our home. I know with certainty that the message mom wanted to share with everyone that she met during her sojourn here on this planet is that Jesus loves each one of us and that he longs to be in a personal relationship with us, not because of anything we can do or earn, but simply because of His sacrifice and love for us. 

Godspeed - on behalf of Jo