Joanne Berry Cohoon

Joanne Berry Cohoon, 83, of Franklin, Tennessee, formerly of Murray, Kentucky, passed away on Monday, April 10, 2023, at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Born May 25, 1939, in Camden, Tennessee, to Elvis and Lorene Wheatley Berry, she was the penultimate of eight children. 

Joanne, known to her family simply as Jo, was a 1957 graduate of Lincoln High School in Cleveland, Ohio, where she was elected as homecoming queen and president of the Methodist Youth Fellowship at her church.  She enjoyed a long career in administration, including eight years in the Murray State University Foundation.  Joanne retired from her position as a manager in the philanthropic foundation of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1997. 

Her husband, Gene Cohoon, was her perfect match.  They surprised everyone by marrying just a few months after meeting in 1976 and remained happily married until he passed away in 2012.

Joanne was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Murray where she worshipped until she moved to Tennessee in 2022.  She was passionately devoted to her relationship with Jesus and her family and was known by all who loved her as an ardent patriot. 

She is survived by her daughter Kimberly Oles Berry of Burns, Tennessee; grandchildren Jillian Casebeer of Bellingham, Washington, and Jackson Casebeer of Murfreesboro, Tennessee; a brother Dean (Delores) Berry of Warren, Pennsylvania; a sister Sandra (Bill) Gus of Chesterfield, Virgina; and many cherished nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her sisters Ione Berry Evans, Doris Berry Kozak, and Imajane Berry, and her brothers Olian Berry and Duane Berry.

A graveside service will be held at the Mt. Zion Cemetery in Big Sandy, Tennessee, at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 14 with Rev. Jeff Rudy officiating. Expressions of sympathy may be made to St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital or a veteran support organization.