Newton, Jo Ann age 74, of Eagan, MN, passed away October 9, 2022. 

Jo was born in Minneapolis, MN, on August 6, 1948. After graduating from University of Wisconsin, River Falls, Jo pursued a career as a technical writer. Her language skills and hands-on approach to experimenting with the hardware and software she documented won her several awards, including a United States Patent.

Jo married Glen Newton on August 30, 1993, and began a shared journey filled with love, music, TV production, and cats. Jo's passion for raising and showing cats led to international awards. She also co-edited ten yearbooks for the American Cat Fanciers Association. Jo's friends remember her as a kindhearted person with a dry sense of humor and a memorable laugh, who made everyone feel special and was always asking what she could do to help.

Jo worked as a tech writer at Unisys (a company that makes computers and software), and she won several awards for her technical manuals. She also shares United States Patent No 7,506,045 B1 with three other Unisys technical writers for “Method and Mechanism for the Development and Implementation of a Web-Based User Interface.” (Lawyers have a way to make any patent sound boring.) The product was called “Cool ICE”, where ICE stood for “Internet Commerce Enabler.”

One of Jo’s awards reflected her breakthrough in getting two development organizations to agree on how to configure a communication product. One group was in Roseville, Minnesota, and the other was in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Jo flew back and forth to work with them in person. While in Utah she developed a love of downhill skiing that continued even after the trips to Utah ended.

Jo enjoyed being a contributing member of a productive group. The group of writers who earned the patent is one example. Community television crews are another. Jo and Glen volunteered as part of a team that produced videos for Channel 15 in the northern suburbs of St. Paul. For live broadcasts of concerts or plays, Jo usually ran one of the studio-quality cameras and occasionally handled sound or ran the teleprompter. For live broadcasts of softball games, Jo often ran the 1st base camera while Glen ran the 3rd base camera. Sometimes she ran the program that gave the TV audience an overlay with the score, balls and strikes, and outs. For election coverage, Jo harvested the data on state elections to combine it with the local electon tallies.

Jo's first job out of college was working for American Hoist and Derrick. She was hired as a practical joke on a supervisor who hated women and thought the new writer would be “Joe”, a man. However, she proved her value to the company by reading the blueprints (a letter of recommendation said that what was most impressive about Jo was her quick intelligence in mastering unfamiliar materials - such as hydraulic engineering blueprints), then looking at the machinery out in the yard that was actually built and discovering the differences! Past tech writers had simply written parts manuals based on the blueprints, causing confusion for customers when they tried to get replacement parts – and got the wrong ones because the diagrams didn’t match the equipment they had. This never happened with the manuals Jo wrote.

In one memorable incident, Jo and an engineer were comparing blueprints to the equipment out in the yard when he collapsed from the pain of a kidney stone. Jo put her jacket under the unconscious man’s head, then ran back inside for help. (There were no cell phones in those days.) An ambulance took him to the hospital, where he recovered.

Jo always encouraged her daughters to have a positive attitude and push ahead despite adversity.

Jo began showing cats by helping her friend Sharon Jennings show her household pets at the St. Paul Winter Carnival Cat Show. Jo and Glen eventually began showing their own cats in the American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA) and The Cat Fanciers Association (CFA). One outstanding household pet cat, Minnesota Spankee, was selected as the King of the Household Pets at the St. Paul Winter Carnival Cat Show. Spankee was also ACFA's Household Pet of the Year in 2007. 

Jo enjoyed driving with friends to cat shows as far away as Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, seeing the sights along the way.

Flying took Jo even farther, keeping her cat in a carrier under the seat in front, to enter our Maine Coon Cats in competitions in the United States and Canada. Once while Jo was dozing, Red Cloud got out of his carrier and climbed onto the lap of the woman across the aisle. A flight attendant remarked on what a wonderful therapy cat he was, and even got the co-pilot to come back and see him.

She especially enjoyed being a ring clerk, because then she got to see every cat in the show.

Jo loved the Jewish traditions. At Hanukkah and Rosh Hashana, Jo and Glen lit her favorite menorah and sang the traditional prayer.  For most cat show friends, it was their first introduction to the candle lighting tradition. Her grandsons learned about Jewish traditions from Jo.

The 2009 ACFA Annual was in North Carolina, providing an opportunity to visit Glen's Cousin Celia and other relatives in the Carolinas. Jo enjoyed keping touch with them through social media.

Jo was a enthusiastic member of the Gopher State Cat Club, Twin City Cat Fanciers, and others in ACFA and CFA.

Jo enjoyed travel without cats, too. She told captivating stories of accompanying her mother on trips to Europe, including being grasped by the ankles and dangled upside down to kiss the Blarney Stone. Highlights of her travels with Glen were shows in London in the 1990s, the Mississippi River Brass Band European tour in 2017 and the 2022 Viking ocean cruise up the coast of Norway, past the Arctic Circle, in search of the Northern Lights.

Jo loved watching Glen lead the Roseville Big Band and perform in other groups, taking photos and videos to be posted online. She loved hearing Glen and her grandsons Max and Sam practice and always praised and encouraged them.

In high school Jo played clarinet and bass clarinet in the band, so she knew firsthand how exceptional Max's clarinet playing is.

She loved singing throughout her life. In 2000, cat show friends asked her to dress up in a cow suit and sing "Good Moo-rning" with them at a South Dakota show because they needed someone who could carry a tune. In 2002, she sang the lead vocal in a video of Blue Water Line with Stephanie and Glen. youtu.be/…

Jo and Glen enjoyed doing the daily Superquiz in the Star-Tribune, then reading the advice columns and comparing their advice with Amy, Caroline, and Miss Manners.

From a letter of recommendation in 1977: "When students came to my office seeking help with their school work, she was better at working with them than I am -- always friendly, sympathetic, and willing to help, but always professional." These same qualities were obvious as Jo helped her niece Heather with her school work and other life challenges.

Jo was always there for her family when medical problems arose. Jo's brother Chuck credits her with saving his life when he was hospitalized with Legionnaires Disease and she made sure the hospital took the right steps to cure him.

Friends and relatives shared their memories of Jo:

I could always count on Jo to be kind and understanding, and offer comforting words when needed.  She was the one person I wanted to talk to two years ago leading up to the election because I dreaded what might happen and needed to hear some reassuring words.

Jo was a good conversationalist and easy to talk to.  She often had an interesting perspective to share on many topics.  Jo seemed to enjoy looking at my pictures and listening to my stories about our vacations and other adventures. 

Jo had a good sense of humor and a warm laugh.

While sightseeing at the Lincoln Memorial with us after a cat show, she talked about sneaking away with her Temple youth group in high school to see Martin Luther King's "I Had a Dream" speech. Her mother never knew until Jo called at our urging. Her mother was happy.

My sons, Jo's great-nephews, still talk about how Jo showed them around a cat show, explaining how the show runs and pointing out different breeds of cats. She also took an active interest in their activities as they grew up.

I first met Jo many years ago when I was showing two rescue Selkirks as household pets. She provided excellent advice on their grooming which provided me much help in the future. I always looked forward to meeting her at shows and exchanging news.

I remember all the trips to cat shows. The wrong turn would turn into "the scenic route". Jo got us hooked on audio books. I laughed to hear Jo explaining to AAA why we could not take a taxi from the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin when we blew a tire on the way to a show and needed a tow.

She was one of the first people I met many, many years ago in ACFA.   She was so kind, so very intelligent, and loved having a good chat, about places she had been, and things she had done.  She was always quick to laugh, many times at herself. 

Jo always had a smile on her face and always something nice to say. She would quite often compliment me on my hair back when it was long. There were a few times at shows that I brushed her hair and pulled it up for her; she always liked that.

I always looked for Jo in the show hall as I could make her laugh, even though you could tell she was in pain.  [Jo had 8 degenerative disks in her lower spine.] She loved Glen and supported his love of music and was very kind and intelligent. She will certainly be missed.  

Jo was very kind to me, and a cheerleader at shows for my cat when I first started showing. She was encouraging when I wanted to give up, and wouldn’t hear of it.   She made me feel like I had the best cat in the world.  Her love of cats was contagious.  She has a very special place in my heart. 

She had the sweetest, kindest heart, and I'll miss her sorely.

Star Tribune reviews all guest book entries to ensure appropriate content.

Our staff does not correct grammar or spelling. FAQ

Temple Israel Memorial Park; Hodroff-Epstein 612-871-1234; hodroffepstein.com

Paws Place gives hope for a cat or dog that is too old or sick for adoption.

Circle Rocking S Children's Farm

Circle Rocking S Children's Farm is dedicated to providing animal touch therapy, music therapy and recreation free of charge to children of all ages with disabilities.

© 2022 StarTribune. All rights reserved.