Those of you expecting a standard
run-of-the-mill eulogy might want fasten your seatbelts; Jo really enjoyed a
good roller coaster.
Born in Freeport, TX, on February
27, 1951, Joyce Elaine Parker was the daughter of James C. Parker and Mary
Howell Renshaw. We had all come to
know her well as Jo Brock of Roan Mountain, TN, who passed on June 26, 2012 at
the age of 61. Biological mother
to surviving children Robert James Alva Brock and Veronica Toys Brock, Jo
tirelessly assumed the role of mother, caretaker and advisor to everyone she
met. Stunned at the situation
surrounding her passing, we are taking solace in that she is now finally able
to rest in peace.
In addition to Veronica &
son-in-law Damon Steele of Richmond, VA, as well as Robert, daughter-in-law
Codi Taylor Brock & Jo’s only grand-daughter Sydnie Hellane Brock of
Elizabethton, TN, Jo is also survived by her former spouse, Thomas Van Brock of
Newland, NC; her sisters and their husbands Ceci & John Mayberry of Pigeon
Forge, TN, Carol & Larry Maechler of Mena, AR, as well as Bonnie & Jack
McPeck of Spokane, WA. Jo has gone
to meet her maker along with her parents, mother Mary Howell of Gatlinburg, TN,
father & step-mother James & Isabell Parker of San Antonio, TX, as well
as her sister Marty Farwell of Austin, TX.
If anyone here is in the wrong
room, now is the time to tell us.
We will pause for a moment, while you clear the room. Any takers?
No? Moving-on then…
Although Jo shared almost four
decades of her life within Roan Mountain, she always considered herself a
Texan. She maintained this
home-state pride, even though she was in Sarasota, Florida when she and her
husband-to-be, Thom, met on December 21, 1967. Thom and his two best friends,
who were home from college, were invited to a Christmas party at Jo’s mother
and stepfather’s home. At that
time, meeting Jo also meant that you had to meet all of her sisters as well,
Ceci, Marty, Carol and Bonnie.
Jo was set to return to San
Antonio, Texas, after the holidays.
She lived there with her father, Jim, and her stepmother, Mama Belle. She
helped her dad in San Antonio in his landscape maintenance business.
Her sister, Ceci, was working at a
Burger King in Sarasota during this era.
When Thom stopped there one day after classes to say hello, he was
pleasantly surprised as Ceci informed him that Jo was returning to the area to
live with her mom and finish school.
As Thom attended the University of
South Florida, he and Jo saw each other whenever they could. After high school, Jo attended Bauder
Fashion and Merchandising College in Miami. Jo’s graduation from Bauder on May 30th of 1970
briefly preceded another ceremony in the celebration of Jo’s life.
Less than two weeks later, Thom and
Jo married on June 12, 1970 in Sarasota, FL, at the Pine Shores Presbyterian
Church. They lived briefly in
Tampa, where Jo worked for Zayre department stores and Thom finished his
degree. The “still newlyweds” returned to Sarasota in 1971 to operate Thom’s
father’s landscaping and garden center business.
When the opportunity to buy a farm
in Roan Mountain, TN, presented itself, they jumped at the chance. Thom’s folks had moved to Newland, NC,
previously. Thom’s father found
the farm on Hampton Creek, which was bought, site unseen.
Jo worked hard when they moved to
the farm. The mobile home they had
purchased in Florida was totally destroyed by the trip. They were forced to live in a big barn
when they arrived. She helped turn
a barely livable situation into a very viable one. With time, ingenuity, help from friends and family, that old
barn became a house and then a home.
It was perhaps as much of a one-of-a-kind original as Jo.
She endured taking baths in an oak
barrel with water heated on a wood stove.
She endured taking showers outside the barn with a black plastic pipe laid
across the pasture to heat up the water during the day. She used a portable chemical commode
until the plumbing was installed the following year. Thom and she had to sleep on the bales of hay in the
barn. The moonlight beamed through
the barn boards and they could see the mice dancing all around. She endured, much to her credit, a great
deal more than many people would ever even consider: No electricity, no bathroom,
living out of coolers, kerosene lamps… the list was seemingly endless.
As much as Jo claimed to be a
Texan, her personality traits were very much her own brand. She never made excuses for herself,
rather she made her strong-willed vibrant spirit very much known and never
ignored. Jo was stubborn,
obstinate, cantankerous, ornery, and opinionated. She was also said to have the tact of a water buffalo.
But she also had a gregarious
side. Over the years, she reached
out to help many people. Her role
as earth mother reached-out to everyone she encountered. Her save-everyone philosophy knew no
end. If you needed the shirt off
her back, she would not only offer it, rather she would insist upon sharing
it. Whether the people around her
were friends, acquaintances, strangers, or otherwise, every one of them benefited
from being around her, in one way or another. Whether it was food, money, gifts, tough love or whatever
was needed. She did this so often,
it was more than second nature.
Thom and Jo bought a service station
business in Pineola, NC. They ran it
along with Thom’s sister, Dee, and her husband, Dewayne. Simultaneously, Thom was also running a
newspaper route for the Asheville-Citizen Times. When Jo was seriously injured in an automobile accident in
the fall of 1972, she lost a child she didn’t know she was carrying at the
time. She never fully recovered
from her back injuries. They had
to close the service station business.
When Thom started teaching school
in Roan Mountain, Jo had even more responsibilities at the farm. The interaction with the public school
system allowed Jo her first ability to meet and make impressions upon the mass
of locals. Jo contributed to a community
fund-raising event one evening by setting up a palm-reading booth on the stage
in the school gym. At first the
line was minimal, but after a few people had their opportunity to hear someone
else elaborate on their private truths, the line quickly filled and formed all
the way through the building and out the door into the parking lot. Afraid that the locals might think Jo a
witch, Thom wisely asked that she not do that anymore.
If she weighs the same as a duck...
she's made of wood!
And therefore…
In the following 17-18 years, she
helped grow Christmas trees, as well as raised sheep, goats, hogs, cats and St.
Bernards. She always tended a big
garden that was planted every year.
Veronica still remembers this garden even today with every fruit and
vegetable she is offered.
Understandably, nothing has ever tasted as good as the harvest from the
Elm Hollow farm. Raised with
merely hard work, nature, and love, nothing could compare.
Veronica “Toys” was born in 1976. When
Veronica was young, the family returned to Florida to run a landscaping
business. When it was time for
Veronica to start school, they returned to Roan Mountain to start an arts and
crafts business. This endeavor had
them traveling to a variety of locations and meeting a myriad of interesting
people. Thom started work at the
animal hospital in Roan Mountain in 1983.
Jo kept the home fires burning.
Much to everyone’s joy and surprise, Robert “Bobby” James Alva “Big Al” was born in 1987. A few years later, he actually grew
into all those nicknames.
As the arboreal crop matured, Thom
and Jo also began to sell Christmas trees during this time. Travel then was more focused on the
annual trips to Florida just before Christmas each year. It was during this era that Veronica
learned the truth about a certain Jolly Old Elf. On December 23, 1989, a massive snowstorm settled into
Florida. Previously, Thom had
always managed to return home before Christmas, until that year. The traditional Brock family
celebration always began on Christmas Eve, and also lasted well into the New
Year. However, this snowy holiday,
highways were closed and Thom did not arrived in time to help Saint Nick
deliver his presents. However, the
holiday remained unspoiled for all, as Thom returned shortly thereafter.
The winter holiday season was
always a magical time for the Brock family. All four of
their birthdays were huddled closely around these holidays. One of the best and most memorable eras
was when Veronica turned 14, on November 7, 1990. Thom followed with his winter solstice eve birthday on
December 21 of that same year as he turned 44. Robert was not far behind with his 4th birthday,
January 8th, a day he shares with the late-great-king-of-rock-n-roll. Jo’s birthday was always saving the
best for last, February 27, as she reached the pinnacle age of 40 in early
1991. 14 - 44 - 4 & 40. It
was a numerological masterpiece, like it was meant to be, perhaps even made in
heaven, so to speak.
It was not too long after this, the
family Jo had helped to hold together, began to go their separate ways. For good or bad, Jo and Thom separated in
early 1992. Thom moved to North
Carolina and Jo remained in Tennessee with Robert and Veronica. As with any divorce, life became
confusing and all felt lost for quite a while. Eventually the magical Elm Hollow farm was sold and Jo soon
re-located to another nearby property that she and Thom had owned. She remained at that property, the one
we have all come to know as Hemlock Lane until this most recent unexpected
event.
The memories and stories continued
to build on Hemlock Lane as time marched along. Jo was occasionally challenged by certain domestic
mysteries. The rather inventive
way she used cleaning products was the source of more than a few familial
tales. One of the most prominent
of these involved young Master Robert in 2004. It seems Jo felt that aerosol engine degreaser would make an
exemplary oven cleaner. Later in
the day, Robert attempted to cook a pizza within that self same oven. The air and the pizza became saturated
with the fumes of overheated chemicals.
This was the first time both Jo and Veronica ever heard Robert
curse.
The moral of this story: Don’t get between a boy and his pizza.
Jo never stopped caring about her
daughter and son. She and Thom inevitably
came to talk and correspond again.
Most of the conversations revolved around the children. Each member of the family had to move
on with their lives, but none of them could ever leave behind the most precious
concerns of their hearts, one another. When Sydnie Hellane, Jo’s granddaughter, came into their lives,
they had yet another common gift which re-enlivened communication.
Jo loved her mom and dad, her
sisters, and all of her family from Washington State to New Jersey, with a
healthy dose of Texas, Arkansas and Florida in between. She loved to work and be outside. She loved to mow; it seemed to be
therapeutic for her. Perhaps the
only thing she loved more than Roan Mountain, itself, were the people she
encountered living on it.
The fact that she was taken from us
cannot be understood. We can only
join together here as those who love her, miss her, and will always remember
her. May she have lasting
peace. We all wish her God
speed. Bless her memory.
John, at this point we want to
invite everyone to listen (and perhaps sing along) to Aaron Neville’s rendition
of “The Lord’s Prayer.” By the
way, John, you should not be reading this part aloud and if you are ... now
would be a good time to shut up.
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