Obituary of Mary Jo Kendall

Kendall, Mary Jo 89, of St. Petersburg, passed away on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013. Born in Los Angeles, California, she came here in 1970. She was a member of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church. Mary Jo was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. She enjoyed bowling and talking to her squirrels - all of whom she knew by name. She also enjoyed crocheting and she loved to read. She was preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, James Paul. She is survived by her son, Lawrence Kendall; her daughter Tina Kendall Bayly; and her granddaughters Bridgette and Samantha Kendall. There will be a Mass of Christian Burial at Blessed Trinity on Friday, February 8th, at 2:00 PM, followed by Committal Service at Calvary Catholic Cemetery. Visit the family's personalized online Guestbook at www.alifetribute.com. A Fatchada Mamata……if you ever heard my mom say this you knew you were in some kind of trouble. And I can tell you I heard it with my name attached to the end along with several of my friends, namely (and yes ladies I'm calling you out); Michelle, Carrie, Kim or Terri more times than any of us could count and more than likely it was because we were strolling in the door at some crazy hour after a night out. She had a million of those little sayings, some quirky, some not. The quirky ones would make you laugh out loud and as much as you didn't want to you picked 1 or 2 up from her and found yourself using them. Some of the most memorable or funny ones were: wait a cotton pickin minute, wasa, yoohoo, mata gumba, aloha and my personal favorite weekie waukie. And when you were sad or something was bothering you she would tell you to put it on a slow boat to China. Our family definitely loved each other but the dynamic was pretty defined; I was the epitome of a daddy's girl…I really could do no wrong in Skippy's eyes (that's what my girlfriends and I affectionately use to call my dad). And well as for Larry he wasn't what you would call a mama's boy (well I guess I could call him that but he'd probably punch me in the arm later). He is the son of an Italian mother and Italian mothers love love love their sons! But that said she certainly had a lot to be proud of in her son. Larry served our country in the Navy for 30 years including Desert Storm. At one point in Larry's Naval career he was stationed in Sicily. Mom's parents came here on the boat….her father was Sicilian and her mother was from Abbru Bella which is down near the heel of the boot and I am certain with the exception of being pick pocketed when she and Larry were in the subway in Rome it was a dream come true trip. In Rome they went to the Panthion, Colliseum and of course the Vatican. In Sicily Larry, Anne, Bridgette & Samantha took her all over. They went to Palermo where mom's father was from and the Cathedral at Monrali which she just loved - she mentioned many times the beautiful mosaics inside the cathedral. As Father Fred mentioned my mom loved to crochet, read and bowl. And boy she loved her soap operas especially The Young & The Restless and As The World Turns. I can remember watching those with her as a kid and she'd get so into them she would be yelling at the TV……oh and thanks mom, I've picked that little habit up from you. My mom and dad like all married couples had their ups & downs but they endured and when my dad passed away they had been married 52 years which is something I can say my brother and I were very proud of. I think one of the things my mom loved most in life was being a grandmother to Bridgette & Samantha. She never smiled more or seemed happier than when they came to visit. And like all good grandmas she spoiled them…..I won't say rotten because they are not but spoil them she did. I asked them to tell me a couple fond memories they have of Grandma Jo Jo and the first thing they both said was the squirrels! I said the squirrels and they say yeah Elmer & Matilda the squirrels that would come up to the back sliding glass door that Grandma would talk to and leave popcorn for them outside in an aluminum pie plate. They loved their slumber parties with Grandma Jo Jo and I'm sure there was more junk food consumed at one of those than any of us can imagine! They also mentioned going to lunch with her at Bob Evans and how it use to drive Grandma Jo Jo insane when the waitress would spill her coffee on her napkin. It might not sound funny to anyone else but to her kids and grandkids it's pretty funny because that's just the quirky person she was. Samantha found a short poem she wanted me to read: We thought of you with love Today that is nothing new We thought about you yesterday And days before that too We think of you in silence We often speak your name All we have are memories and Your picture in a frame Your memory is our keepsake With which we'll never part God has you in His keeping We have you in our hearts Mary Jo - a friend, an aunt, a mother-in-law, a grandmother, a mom, however you knew her you knew she was feisty, fun and one of a kind. And from the bottom of our families hearts we thank you for coming here today to celebrate her life.