Jo Ann Marie Milios

JoAnn Marie Milios, selfless and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend, inspired flower arranger, sugar cookie sleuth, believer in ghosts and lover of rainbows died Tuesday, Feb. 18, in Seattle, Washington, at the age of 68.

She was born February 9, 1946 in Toledo, Ohio, to Ernest and Ruth Hohenberger, and was the youngest of five siblings: oldest brother Bill, now deceased, and three sisters, Donna, Sharon, and Barbara. She is survived by her high school sweet heart, best friend and husband of almost 48 years, Tom, their two sons, Timothy and Matthew, daughter-in-laws Roberta and Callie, and four adoring grandchildren, Maxwell, Alexander, Adelena, and Jacob.

Raised in Toledo, JoAnn and Tom were married in their hometown in 196X. Her journey through life took her many places and she touched lives and made friends wherever she went, including Eugene, OR, Doylestown, PA, Cary, NC, Scottsdale, AZ, and Vashon Island, WA.

JoAnn was the creative spirit of the family. Always quick to take on a project for her boys, she sewed, glued, pasted, cut and taped her way through their school years – consistently earning high marks – while her Halloween costumes practically ensured annual celebrity for her kids. Her craftiness, eye for color and symmetry, and thoughtful creations surprised and delighted her friends and family, and her talents were perhaps never better or more beautifully on display than when she turned her attention to her flower arrangements.

She treasured the memories and traditions of her childhood and after searching for years eventually recreated and perfected her mother’s much-beloved-but-lost sugar cookie recipe, much to the delight of her grandchildren. She was also one to welcome and encourage the new, and in her last years began her own family tradition of hanging small cards that stated what we were most thankful for on New Years’ to remind us to be grateful, even during the toughest times.

JoAnn was a fiercely dedicated grandmother who spent countless hours happily playing with, reading and singing to, and generally doting on her grandchildren. A consummate and gracious hostess, she was a friend to everyone she met, that rare individual who looked for the beautiful side of everything and always put the needs of others before her own.

Jo, Jodi, Mom, Grammy, you will always be missed and will never be forgotten.