Jo Anna was the middle child of seven siblings of five girls and two boys. She grew up in the small country community of Cane Hill, Missouri. She attended one room schools until high school, graduating from Stockton High School in 1956. Going straight to work as a secretary in Springfield Missouri, Jo Anna continued in this her first career until she met and married Bud Biglieni, June 30, 1972. They embarked on their marital journey living in Colorado a few years while Bud attended preaching school. Upon graduating he began his preaching career which included many congregations. They settled in Texas, after a time in Jefferson City, Missouri, where Jo Anna began her second career working as a government civil employee.

With one more move when Jo Anna retired, they moved back to Springfield. Although Bud had enjoyed his hobby for several years, acquiring and repairing antique clocks, Jo Anna had never had a hobby until now. She took organ lessons and loved them! She especially loved the music she made on her own organ which she soon purchased. Playing was not only a source of pride but also a peaceful experience for her.

Usually considered to be very quiet, Jo Anna preferred adding “to” a conversation rather than starting one. She always enjoyed a good story told well and she could out-laugh almost anyone!

Jo Anna’s life work preceded and superseded her careers, job, and her hobby. Jo Anna was a Christian. She attended all services held at whatever church she was attending. She studied and taught and was very active in the community of the church.
And although she enjoyed good health for most of her 84 years, the last few years were quite difficult. She could no longer drive or even walk without assistance. Her most frequent complaint about her failing health was that she could no longer go to church. Jo Anna was baptized as a teenager in a small stream with one wide deep hole near her home, locally referred to as the “City Bathtub”. When she rose from that water to walk in the newness of her life as a member of the Flint Hill Church of Christ, that walk never ended until July 14, 2023.

Jo Anna is preceded in death by her parents, Guy and Jo Roy, her husband, Bud, and her brother Jack. She is survived by four sisters: Joyce of Memphis TN, Jacquelyn of Sherwood AR, Jean of Raymore MO, Betty of Kansas City MO, and one brother Guy (Charlene) of Warsaw MO, and sister-in-law Nancy (Jack) of Dadeville MO, along with a host of nieces and nephews and her Sunset Church of Christ family.

Memorials can be made to Sunset Church of Christ, 1222 W Sunset St, Springfield, MO 65807, also Happy Hollow Bible Camp of Strafford MO, happyhollowbiblecamp@gmail.com
Mailing Address 334 East Kearney, Box 101 Springfield, MO 65803.

The family will receive friends Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 12:00pm-1:00pm at Sunset Church of Christ, prior to services at 1:00pm with burial following at Evergreen Cemetery in Republic MO.