Josephine "JoAnn" Gerety

Funeral Services and a Mass of Christian Burial for Josephine “Jo Ann” Gerety, 84, a resident of Davenport, will be 10:30am Monday, September 9, 2019 at St Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 916 E. Rusholme Street, Davenport.  Burial will be in National Cemetery, Rock Island, Illinois.  The family will greet friends from 1:00 – 3:00pm Sunday, September 8, 2019 at Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home, 614 Main Street, downtown Davenport.  All are invited to pray the rosary with the family at 3:00 to close the visitation.  There will be additional visitation Monday at church from 9:30am until the time of the service.  Jo Ann passed away Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf, surrounded by her family.

Josephine Ann Werthmann was born January 28, 1935 in Davenport, a daughter of George N. and Genevieve M. (Wehr) Werthmann. Jo Ann attended St. Joseph’s Parochial School and graduated from Immaculate Conception Academy in 1953.  Jo Ann worked for Naeckle’s Paint Store for a few years as a bookkeeper after graduation.  She married Thomas Andrew Gerety on July 1, 1957 where they pulled away from the church in the backseat of a 1957 Chevy and went on to have seven children.

Jo Ann loved dancing at Danceland, gardening, going to the movies, card club (euchre and bridge), and bowling league.  She loved to compete and was an avid bingo player up to her last days.  She served on the Daughters of Isabella at the Knights of Columbus Hall where she ran their Tootsie Roll Drive for a number of years.  She was also a Cub Scout Leader for her children and their friends.  She was a lifelong parishioner of St. Paul’s Catholic Church.  She had a wonderful smile and a great personality that could light up the room with her good sense of humor.

She is survived by her seven children: Dan (Eva) Gerety, Henderson, NV, Kathy (Marc) Gerety-Nesseler, Rock Island, IL, Tim (Susan) Gerety, Sherrard, IL, Jeff Gerety, Sherrard, IL, John Gerety, Avon, IN, Kelly (Chad) Albrecht, Deerfield, IL, and Ann (Walt) McMullen, Davenport. She has 18 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Jo Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Tom, a grandson, Garrett, her parents, and a sister, Beatrice.

Memorials may be made to St. Paul the Apostle, Assumption High School, or Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House.