Obituaries

Georiga (Jo Ann) Wolfe Oakes left her earthly family to be accepted into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior for eternal life on October 2, 2012.  She was a dedicated wife, mother, maw-maw, sister, aunt JoJo, and friend.  With each person she loved and everyone she met, she would share her love of Christ and the message of His saving grace. Her greatest desire was that everyone she met would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive the gift of eternal life.

She was born in Burlington, North Carolina to Grace Grammar Wolfe and Herbert “Cub” Wolfe.  Her mom made sure she and her brother, Forrest and her sisters, Molly, Jerry, Peggy and Aundra all knew about God.  She married the love of her life, David Samuel Oakes on April 16, 1955 and has been his “Earth Angel” ever since.  Their life together was a true love story in which they made Christ the center of their lives as they raised their three daughters, Tammy, Robin, and Dana.  Jo Ann was a stay at home mom and did not work until after Dana started kindergarten.  Her children were her life and she devoted herself to making a good home for them and to nurturing their relationship with the Lord God Almighty.

After her daughters married men that she accepted and loved as her sons: Reverend Robert Baker (Tammy), Marvin Sams (Robin), and Todd Friday (Dana), she was blessed with grandchildren who she said were the best gift God had ever given her – Ashleigh Sams Waters, husband Steve; Reverend David Baker, wife Jenna; Andrew (AJ) Sams; Jeffrey Friday, Daniel Friday, Evan Friday, and Lilly Friday.   And then God added to her joy two great-grandchildren, Samuel Waters and Kaleigh Waters.  She was also blessed by two special nephews, Billy Wolfe and wife Rosemary and Michael Clark.

Her daughters, Tammy, Robin, and Dana have been blessed more than anyone could ask to have Jo Ann as their mom.  She always wanted the best for them, would do anything within her power to make sure they were happy but most of all made sure that they had a firm foundation in faith through modeling a Godly life, reading God’s word with them, consistently sharing God’s love and praying for them all without ceasing.

Her parents, her in-laws Curtis and Etta Oakes, her brother Forrest (Junior) Wolfe, sisters Molly Presnell, Jerry Stewart and Peggy Norman preceded her in death.  Left to cherish her memory are; her husband of 57 years, David Oakes, her daughters, son-in-laws, grandchildren, grandchildren-in-law, her great-grandchildren, her sister, Aundra Barham, her sister-in-law, Mary Lou McLean, her sister-in-law and husband, Grace and Ralph Ingle, her brother-in-law and wife, Glenn and Pat Oakes and many nieces and nephews, whom she loved and adored!

Jo Ann was a member of Boger City  Baptist Church and loved her church and her pastors and her fellow church members.  It was there that she met two special ladies who became her “adopted” daughters – Kim Rickard and Regina Barker – both who were consistent in their love and dedication to her.

After devoting herself to her children, Mrs. Oakes became a substitute teacher for more than 20 years.  She mainly worked at Lincolnton High School and Lincoln County School of Technology.  There she touched many lives, administration staff, and teachers but most of all the students who love to tell about how Mrs. Oakes loved them and gave them candy.

While David’s “Earth Angel” is no longer with us, it gives us great Joy to know that she has joined her loved ones on the streets of Gold and know that due to her dedication in making sure we know the Love and Saving Grace of God that one day, we will be with her again.

Visitation will be Friday, October 5 from 7 to 9 pm at Warlick Funeral Home.  The celebration of her homegoing will be at Boger City Baptist Church on Saturday at 10 am.  The family will then proceed to Burlington, NC where her earthly body will be laid to rest at Pine Hill Cemetery beside her beloved mother-in-law and father-in-law during a graveside service at 3:30 pm.

The family would like to thank many, none more than the Lord God Almighty for allowing us to have the love of this wonderful woman for all the years we did.  We would like to thank the staff at CMC-Lincoln for the way they cared for our mom and for us during her recent illness, for Dr. John and Dr. Beatrice Doan for the way they cared for mom and cried with us. Lastly, we would also like to thank the staff at Robin Johnson Hospice House for the way they allowed mom to make her transition into Heaven a pain-free and peaceful homegoing.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Gideons International, P.O. Box 1074, Lincolnton, NC  28093.