Mrs. Jo Melton

Funeral services for Mrs. Jo Melton, 88, of Henderson will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, August 1, 2025, in the chapel of Crawford-A. Crim Funeral Home with Dan Henderson officiating. Interment will follow at Pine Crest Cemetery in Troup under the direction of Crawford-A. Crim Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM on Friday, August 1, 2025, at the funeral home. Jo Melton passed peacefully into eternity on July 26, 2025, at the age of 88. She was born on April 19, 1937, in Troup, Texas, to George A. and Ruby V. Smith. Her parents named her Rosetta Josephine after her grandmothers, but she was always called Jo. She followed three brothers--David, Paul, and Lynn--so she grew up a freckled-face tomboy, despite having a younger sister, Willa. The Smith family moved from Troup to the Beaumont area during World War II. Jo graduated from French High School in Beaumont in 1955 and went away to Abilene Christian College for a year. She returned home to help care for her mother when Ruby was diagnosed with diabetes. Jo continued her schooling at Lamar University and earned a B.S. in Elementary Education in May of 1959. During her last year of school, she met a young preacher, Glenn Melton, and following a whirlwind courtship, they married on June 26, 1959. They had three children, Jo Beth, Jan Willa, and Jeffrey Glenn in rapid succession. Glenn and Jo established a forty-two year partnership of ministering to many lost and lonely souls in congregations in Texas and other southern states. They returned to Texas in 1997 and made Henderson their home because Jo loved the piney woods of East Texas and because they loved the Highway 79 Church of Christ, where they had served earlier. Jo was known for many simple things. She loved nature and could name almost any bird, tree, or flower. She also loved to photograph nature, and to share her beautiful photographs with friends and family in the form of greeting cards. She loved to write and receive letters, and much of her time was spent at her writing desk, or checking her mail, or going to the post office to purchase the latest in postage stamps. She loved to read and was a frequent patron of the Rusk County Library, always carrying large stacks of books to and from. She was fiercely independent and refused to let anyone else mow her lawn. Jo was preceded in death by her brothers Paul and Lynn, her beloved husband Glenn, daughter-in-law Tami Melton, and granddaughter Rebekah LeAnne Henderson. She is survived by her brother David, her sister Willa, her children, sons-in-law Dan Henderson and Daniel Machart, and grandsons-in-law Reuben Prevost and William Harris. She was a proud “JoJo” to five grandchildren: Rachel, Rebekah, Ruth, Isaac, and Michal Esther. She was a very proud “GiGi” to three great grandchildren: Ezekiel, Kara, and Judah. Most of all, Jo was a devout follower of Jesus Christ and a true Proverbs 31 woman. “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.crawfordacrim.com.

Mrs. Jo Melton

April 19, 1937 - July 26, 2025