- Date Of Death: May 5, 2016
- State: Alabama
JoAnn Turner Hicks joined God’s heavenly choir on May 5, 2016. Jody, as she was known to her family and friends, was a lifelong resident of Birmingham. She grew up in the ACIPCO community and attended ACIPCO-Eagen Elementary School. She graduated from Phillips High School in 1954, where she was a National Honor Society member and President of the student body. Jody was a very talented, gifted musician and attended Birmingham Southern College where she was a music major, studying piano under Dr. Dorsey Whittingham and Dr. Hugh Thomas. She also sang in the choir under Dr. Raymond Anderson. Jody used her music talent in service to her Lord and Savior for many years at Pilgrim Congregational Church and for the last fifty plus years at Huffman Baptist Church. At Huffman she accompanied choirs, sang in the Sanctuary Choir and select ensembles, directed Children’s Choir, and later sang in the Happy Hearts Senior Adult Choir. Jody was the only accompanist for the American Cast Iron Pipe Company’s Men’s Chorus during its 50 year existence. Jody was devoted to her family and took great pride in her roles of daughter, wife, mother and grandmother. She was predeceased by her parents, Chester and Verna Turner, her brother and sister-in-law, Edgar and Sarah Turner and her brother-in-law, William Sawhill. She is survived by her husband, Glenn Hicks, son Steven Hicks, daughter Julie Smith (Bart) and grandchildren Aubrey and Alex Smith. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Faye Sawhill, nephews Allen Turner (Cathy), Eric Turner (Miriam), Gregory Sawhill (Donna) and nieces Suzanne Turner and Karen Shirley (Ed). Jody fought a valiant battle with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for forty-two years. Her family wishes to express our gratitude to Dr. Emily Riser for the excellent care she provided during this battle. The family also thanks Gentiva Hospice for their excellent care during the final stages of her battle. Specifically, we thank Catherine Rice, Vanda Hicks, Gloria Duff and Lequita Askew (Coco) for their dedicated care.
