For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in us to do. –-- Ephesians 2:10

Joanna Mae Stauffer died peacefully in her sleep Thursday, January 15, 2026. Jo, as she was always known to family and friends, was born in Topeka, Kansas on May 23rd of a year not to be disclosed to anyone except medical or legal professionals on a strict need to know basis. She grew up in the Bay Area of California and then in Boise, Idaho. She spent many happy summers on the farm of her aunt, Dorothy Fay, where she learned there is always fun coming – once the chores are done. In 1951, Jo moved to Southern California with her beloved mother and “Pop,” Marjorie and Walter Mortimer. There she married and settled in to spend the next decades raising six daughters. Several relocations later Jo, her husband Bob, and four daughters landed in Ridgecrest in 1978.

Jo began her career at then Ridgecrest Community Hospital in patient care as an LPN, soon moving into the administrative arena as assistant to the Director of Nursing. She retired in 2018 as an executive assistant to the CEO, having served the community for 38 years. She continued to provide for the needs of “her hospital” as a member of the Hospital Foundation until her death.

Devout Christian, intrepid traveler, gifted speaker, lover of history, music and the arts, Jo’s life is an enduring legacy for her family, friends, and fellow worshippers at Christ the King Anglican Church.

Jo is preceded in death by her husband, parents, aunt, and son-in-law Les Hunter. She is survived by her six daughters and their families: Janet & Wayne Gately and Margie Hunter, both of Marion, Arkansas; Jean Clement and Martha & Gary Ferguson, both of Huntsville, Alabama; Marian & Rich Bruce of Ridgecrest; and Margo & Kelly McClara of Middletown, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Christ the King Anglican Church.