Jo (Connelly) Ford

Funeral Service for Jo Ford, 88, of Sallisaw, Oklahoma will be at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at Vian Trinity Free Holiness Church in Vian, Oklahoma. Burial will follow at Haven of Rest Cemetery in Vian, Oklahoma under the direction of Agent Mallory Martin Funeral Service, Inc.

Jo Ford was born Beulah Ellen on November 5, 1933, in Pawnee, Oklahoma to Anna Marie Thirsty and William Barney Connelly. Fiercely independent, she wouldn’t stay Beulah Ellen for long. As a girl, she changed her name to Beulah Jo, and later, just Jo. But really, she was never “just” Jo. She was known as Sister Jo to the Holiness Saints she loved and worshipped with, Aunt Jo to her nieces and nephews, JoJo to her grandkids and many other children, Jo Sosie to her beloved brother, and Mama to her four girls.

Jo Ford always made her own path. She abided by her beliefs, and she loved the only way she knew how, with ferocity. A proud, strong Cherokee woman, she graduated from high school at Chilocco Indian School. She then went on to graduate on the Dean’s List with an Associate’s Degree from Connors State College. She then attended Northeastern State University, majoring in Fine Arts and Business Administration. While at Northeastern, she became ill, or she surely would have graduated with honors there too.

While she was at Northeastern State, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Doctors gave her six months to live and recommended brain surgery but gave her only a 50% chance of survival. Jo told the doctors, “Well, my God can do better than that,” and walked out of the hospital. This would become Jo’s testimony. God healed the tumor, and she went on to live another 46 years, sharing God’s love, strength, and power with Holiness communities all over the country.

She also blessed untold numbers of people with the songs she wrote. Songs such as “It’s Been a Long Journey” and “Everything about My God is Great” have become standards in many churches across the country. She recorded a CD of the songs she had written at the age of 80 and was so proud of the work she did with other Holiness singers and musicians.

She was also known for her artistic talents. She painted and drew landscapes and portraits and made beautiful cakes, cookies, and candies to earn money to support her girls.

She spent all of her adult life in Sequoyah County and loved nothing more than taking drives through the countryside of her beloved home. In her later years her devoted caretaker and friend Patsy Taylor drove her many miles through God’s handiwork. Jo loved to say, “I was born an Okie, and I’ll die an Okie.”

Jo is preceded in death by her mother and father, Anna Marie and William Connelly; her brother and sister, Will and Opal Connelly; her husband, Loyd Hubbard; and the girls’ father, E.B. Ford. She is survived by her four daughters, Myrna Ford of Troy, VA, Karen Ford of Reckersville, VA, Valerie Ford Hancock and Joe Tom of Nocona, TX, and Tamara Ford Henderson and Joe of Reckersville, VA. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Chris, Brian, Kelli Jo, Kirk, Jaylene, and Dylan, eleven great-grandchildren, and eight nieces and nephews.

Active Pallbearers will be Brian Deane, Kirk Hooten, Scott Weaver, Jo Tom Hancock, Joe Henderson and Dwain Jett.

Viewing and Visitation will be 6 – 8 PM Monday at Vian Trinity Free Holiness Church in Vian, Oklahoma.