Mary Jo Anderson

Longtime Alaska resident, Mary Jo Anderson, 73 passed away June 9, 2015 at Alaska Regional Hospital. A Celebration of Life will be held 1 pm Sunday, June 21 at Wasilla Area Senior Center. Mary Jo was born December 8, 1941 in Albany, Georgia. She grew up in Albany. Mary Jo came to Alaska at the age of 26 in 1968 by herself pregnant to start a new life. She worked as a School Bus driver for the Anchorage School District retiring in 2004. She continued to work taking care of senior citizen and the handicapped through the Alzheimer's Foundation up until her stroke in 2009. She was a Woman of God. She loved to read, and always wanted a little farm where she could plant things and watch them grow. Her family was everything to her. Mary Jo earned her G.E.D. at the age of 50 and furthered her education earning her diploma as a Medical Office Specialist at the age of 51. In Mom's words: "You need to make Him the most important thing in your Life- its not enough to just believe that he is God- Only those that do his will and keep his laws will be Saved and Repent of your sins. Be forgiven for your sins is the first step." Mary Jo is survived by her children, Scott Streb, Willow, AK; Ginger Moser, Anchorage; Cherie Hawkins, Hanover, NM; and Tom Hawkins, Eugene, OR; two grandchildren, Kyle Madrid and Monica Ratliff, Anchorage; two great grandchildren, Kasen and Finley Ratliff; one sister, Dorothy Calley; and two brothers, Gene Melton and Cliff Melton