Josephine Ann Oass Storey, elder daughter of Alfred and Josephine Oass, passed away on Aug. 27, 2009, in Seattle. She was buried at Calvary Cemetery next to her husband of 47 years, Bernard J. Storey on Aug. 31.
Born Nov. 9, 1921 in Bremerton, Wash., JoAnn moved to Seattle wehre she graduated from the University of Washington in 1943 with a degree in journalism. She was a member of Theta Sigma Phi, a professional journalism honorary, and a Alpha Chi Omega Sorority.
While attending the University of Washington, JoAnn met Bernard Storey, an engineering student. They married in Bremerton in 1948. While Bernard pursued his career as an engineer for Boeing, JoAnn was a journalist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Queen Anne News. As a journalist and community activist, JoAnn worked doggedly to resolve long-term legal battles in the Seattle area, including the controversy surrounding the Interbay Golf Course and its driving range, relocation of the Interbay Animal Shelter and protection of Seattle's greenbelts.
JoAnn quickly developed a reputation for doing whatever it took to champion her cause, whether it was telephoning Seattle City Council members, going door-to-door to enlist the support of neighbors or writing articles and letters to the editor for publication in the local newspapers.
She was also a member of the Queen Anne Community Council, head of the Rental Home Owners Association (RHOA), chair of her Seattle precinct, and active in supporting fundraisers and local food banks and the Rotary Club.
Through her community activism, JoAnn made many lifelong friends in the Women in Communications, Neumann House, Sons of Norway and the League of Women Voters. She enjoyed the friendships she cultivated through her hobbies including bridge, golf, entertaining and gardening. but mostly, she thrived no family gatherings at her home on Queen Anne Hill and at their beach property in Normandy Park. She is survived by four children: John and Pam of Seattle, Melissa Storey of Bellevue; and Paul Storey of Sacramento, Calif. Also surviving are two grandchildren, McKinley and Jordan Storey of Bellevue; a sister, Virginia Steffenson of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; three nephews, a niece, and eight grandnieces and grandnephews.[[In-content Ad]]
