In Memoriam:

This issue of The Downtowner is respectfully dedicated to one of the nicest ladies I’ve ever known.

Mary Jo Bryson Barnes passed away peacefully at age 82 on Dec. 28, 2009.

A retired financial systems analyst for the Naval Supply Center, Mary Jo was born in Baldwyn, Mississippi. She was the daughter of the late Ervin Prather Bryson and Thaddeus James Bryson. She was a long-time member
of Larchmont Baptist Church where she was a past president of her Sunday school class. More recently, she attended Freemason Street Baptist Church with her daughter.

Mary Jo was equipped with a kind heart and had a wonderful personality and great sense of humor.

She is survived by her loving family who include her daughter, Markie Cravedi and her husband Eddie of Norfolk; her son, Larry Rutherford and his wife Shelley of Coral Gables, Fla.; three grandchildren, Bryson Maslow of Norfolk, Alison Rutherford Bracewell and her husband Ken of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Thaddeus Rutherford and his wife Courtney of Palmetto, Fla.; great-grandchildren, Coleman and Quinn Rutherford; and her faithful and loving companion, Faith Banks. Mary Jo was preceded in death by her granddaughter, Kristen H. Maslow.

A funeral was conducted at Freemason Baptist Church on Dec. 31, 2009, followed by her burial in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

A kind, intelligent, and gentle lady, Mary Jo Barnes will always be fondly remembered by all who were lucky enough to know her. Always and forever

-- Jack Armistead

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