JoEllen Faye Jason of Marstons Mills, MA passed away peacefully at home on May 30, 2022. She was born in Flandreau, SD on January 26, 1947 to Bob and Faye Gullickson. She didn’t like to talk about her age. When asked her age by a younger co-worker, she retorted, “Old enough to be your sister.” If you want to know how old she was, you’ll have to do the math.
Jo spent her early years in rural South Dakota, beginning first grade in a one-room schoolhouse, then attending Flandreau Public Schools, graduating in 1965. She attended the University of South Dakota where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She spent several summers during college working at a Dunkin’ Donuts on Cape Cod. It was there that she met Manny Jason, the policeman who would become her husband. After graduation, she went back to the Cape, marrying Manny in 1973. Together they raised seven children and were foster parents to many others.
The eldest of six siblings, Jo passed on a conviction that big ideas were the rightful domain of every kid. She followed her own interests. While in elementary school she developed a passion for baseball. As an unsophisticated teenager she followed the Yankees (Bobby Richardson was a major crush), but she matured into a diehard Red Sox fan. Jo was unafraid of taking on big challenges: working two jobs after the birth of her twin daughters, becoming a police officer, earning a Master’s in Criminal Justice from Anna Maria College while raising her children, and becoming both the first female Sergeant and first female Lieutenant in the Barnstable Police Department. In between, she worked as a waitress, a dental assistant, and a hospice volunteer. She loved reading, collecting antiques, watching baseball and opining on almost anything. Once her children were older she got a passport and visited some of the places she’d dreamed about—France, Germany, Italy, China, Ireland, Greece and Iceland. Jo valued common sense, hard work and perseverance. She was witty and quotable, quelling children’s bickering with “I’m not interested in justice, I’m interested in quiet!”. And she was very generous; for her, love was an action verb.
Jo will be remembered by her loving husband, Manny, daughters Amanda (Abel) Rebelo, Jessica Jacinto, Rebekah and Alexa Jason; sons Joel (Caitlin), Joshua (Jess), and Julian; step- children Michael (Kim) Jason, Barbara Craddle and Tim (Lisa) Jason; grandchildren Simao and Bella Rebelo, Keiran and Brayden Collins, Elias Shagoury, Kellen, Madalena and Raelyn Jason and Parker Jason; sisters Julie (Bob) Connors, and Kristi (Craig) Tamash, brothers Marc (Cathy) Gullickson and Brad (Colleen) Gullickson, sister-in-law Helen May Wildschutte and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Bobby.
Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held at First Lutheran Church, 1663 Main St., West Barnstable, MA 02668 on June 21, 2022 at 2:00 PM. The service can be accessed via the church’s Facebook site. Interment will take place in South Dakota at a later date. The family asks that those wishing to make memorial contributions consider the Midway Church Cemetery Fund (220 36th St. S, Brookings, SD 57006 ) or First Lutheran Church, West Barnstable, MA.