JoAnn Kay Hewitt – Monessen

JoAnn Kay Hewitt, 87, of Monessen, passed away on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, following a short illness. Born in Monessen on Jan. 31, 1935, she was the daughter of the late Bert Harrison Rue and Sarah Gregory Rue. She was a 1952 graduate of Monessen High School. JoAnn was employed by Central Blood Bank of Pittsburgh as a phlebotomist until moving in 1997 to Phoenix, Ariz., where she worked for The Plasma Center in Phoenix. In 1999, JoAnn started working for GEO Corp. at the Arizona State Prison as the librarian, retiring in 2014. She had a very vibrant and fun, loving personality, and was always full of spunk! JoAnn’s life was an adventure. She was an amazing, bold, strong, loving and courageous woman. People didn’t have to wonder long about what she might be thinking because she was always willing to share. She had strong beliefs and opinions about things and expressed them with energy and enthusiasm. Still, she was interested and curious about what others thought and was a willing listener, even when she did not agree. The lessons JoAnn learned from the pleasant and the painful experiences of her life gave her a keen sense of the moment. She was perceptive, witty and very funny. It would be fair to describe her as predictably unpredictable, willing to turn on a dime and change course and always with very good reasons. She was strong-willed and full of spirit. She was known as a legendary fighter and fought for what she believed, what she wanted and especially for those she loved. JoAnn was also very passionate about her faith. She was a long-time member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Monessen and later attended the Christian Center in Belle Vernon. Those of us who knew her and loved her best believe that she stormed the gates of Heaven, had express check-in and became the life of the party in an instant. If JoAnn could have the last word, it would be probably be, “Hey, you know what? I lived my life as well as I could and did it my way.” Her most cherished moments were times spent with her family and friends. She is survived by two sons, Edward Macik of Anaheim, Calif., and Ernest Hewitt of Florence, Ariz.; a daughter and son in-law, Linda and Bill Horrell of Belle Vernon; seven grandchildren, Nicholas Povich, Michael (Kylie) Horrell, Aaron Horrell, Ernie Hewitt, Kirstie Hewitt, Nathan Hewitt and Bradyn Hewitt; and four great-grandchildren, Amelia Hewitt, Kalani Horrell, Daniel Hewitt-Garcia and Madison Hewitt-Garcia. As the last of her generation of the Rue family, JoAnn was also preceded in death by her brothers, Bert (Gertrude), James (Lila), Robert (Mabel) and Palmer Rue, and Alvin Rue in infancy; and her sisters, Sarah Westerman (Ron) and her beloved Margaret Freado (Peter). Local arrangements have been entrusted to FERGUSON FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORY, INC., 700 Broad Avenue. Belle Vernon, PA 15012, www.FergusonFuneralHomeandCrematory.com. A Celebration of Life will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, at the Christian Center Church, 130 Charity Lane, Belle Vernon, PA 15012, followed by a dinner in the Christian Center’s fellowship hall.