Jo Ann Noe, artist, educator, community volunteer, and longtime Galena resident, passed away on Thursday, 17 March 2022 after a long illness. She was four days shy of her 92nd birthday. The Furlong Funeral Chapel, Galena is assisting the family. Friends and family remember and celebrate Jo Ann as an artistically gifted, kind, generous, high-spirited, intellectually curious, skeptical, and fiercely independent soul who graced the lives of many over the decades. Born Jo Ann McClymond at the height of the Great Depression in Indianola, Iowa, she earned a teaching certificate from Simpson College in her hometown, and with her first husband took up residence in Grinnell, Iowa, where she raised four sons. She returned to college at Drake University, graduating in 1968 with degrees in art and education. Marrying her second husband, Bill Noe, in 1974, she relocated to Newton, Iowa, and taught there until her retirement in 1990. In Galena, Illinois, she found a warm-hearted and welcoming community and beautiful surroundings, worthy subjects for her lifelong interest in visual art. Jo Ann’s interests were rich and varied and she pursued them all with passionate intensity. She began making sketches while still a small child, but blossomed into an artist with a distinctive style, working in media as wide-ranging as oil, pastel, and watercolor painting, as well as an ink drawing. She made striking portraits, vivid landscapes, and architectural drawings, but branched out into many other areas as well. She made quilts and clothes, children’s books, and puppets, presenting her own puppet shows. She also had gifts in interior design and decoration. Aside from her work in art and education, Jo Ann was a proud member of Grace Episcopal Church in Galena, where she sang in the choir as an alto. With her late husband, Bill, in a voice-accordion duo, she entertained residents at local nursing homes. She took part in the Galena Cemetery Walks, the Galena Center for the Arts, and in many local charitable initiatives. The community will miss her kind presence and relentless energy. Beyond her life as an artist, Jo Ann was known for her special insight and rapport with children, which carried on to the very last days of her life. Students years and decades after their time with her remember her as a life-changing and life-shaping influence. Her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren share in the same memory. Jo Ann was preceded in death by her late, dearly loved husband, William Noe, and by her brother, William (“Mac”) McClymond. She is survived by her brother, James McClymond (San Diego, Ca.) by four sons: Dan Weeks (Galena, Ill). Tim Weeks (Rochester, NY), Pat Weeks (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Jay Weeks (Iowa City); by her grandchildren: Tammy Wemett and Barry Weeks (Rochester, NY), Marshall Weeks (Des Moines, IA.) and Madison Wiegand (Galena, Il); great-grandchildren; Kobey and Layla Weeks (Rochester, NY), Elle Hermsen (Galena, Illinois), and Hazel Weeks (Des Moines, Iowa); as well as by her step-family: stepdaughter, Barbara Noe Koch (Cedar Rapids, IA), step-granddaughter, Jennifer Warren, and step-great-grandchildren, Evelyn, Nicholas, and Hannah Warren, Sioux Falls, SD. At Jo Ann’s request, no funeral service was held. Friends and family are invited to share written memories of her with her family and to make donations in her name to the Galena Center for the Arts.