JoAnne Pellum

It is with great sadness that our family announces the passing of JoAnne Virginia Pellum. The most selfless, the most loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her loss is felt immensely by so many, as she touched the lives of so many. She tragically died of cancer at the age of 85 at Sutter Hospital in Roseville, CA. JoAnne was born in Pomona, CA into a military family that moved her all around the country during her upbringing. She lived all over California, Louisiana, Maine, and graduated high school on Hickam Air Force Base near Honolulu, HI. It was there in Honolulu that JoAnne fell in love with the Catholic religion and the beauty of the Latin Mass.

JoAnne married and became a mother beginning in 1960 with the birth of her first son Robert Yates in Missouri. Two more sons followed, Scott and Michael in 1966 and 1970, respectively. As a mother she spent endless hours at baseball fields cheering her kids on. JoAnne was also very active at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Marshfield, MO. She was widowed in 1980. After knowing him since she was six years old, JoAnne married Robert “Bob” Pellum in 1983 and moved to Citrus Heights, CA. JoAnne spent most of her life as a bookkeeper. She kept books at the Roseville Joint Union High School District for 30 years before she retired in 2013. JoAnne’s lifelong passion was caring for the people she loved. She loved immensely and always made sure her children and grandchildren were taken care of. Her care extended to friends and coworkers, many of whom regarded JoAnne to be a mother/grandmother figure. 

“Everything will work itself out in the end, it always does,” she would say whenever she saw anyone she loved worried or upset. None of us were prepared for our beloved Ema’s departure. However the things she taught us, the wisdom she passed on, the beautiful memories, and the love she had for us will forever remain in our hearts and will be passed on for generations to come.

JoAnne was proceeded in death by parents Thomas Bailey and Joan Humphrey, her son Scott Yates, her first spouse Rex Yates, and her sister Lorena Baker. She is survived by her husband Robert Pellum, sons Robert and Michael Yates, daughters Patti and Penny Pellum, sisters Jean Stoltz and Kathleen Romani, eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and all those who loved her and will keep her in their memories.

A funeral mass will take place at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Roseville at 11:00am on Monday, June 3rd 2024, with a reception luncheon following immediately after at 12:00 noon in the St. Rose Parish Hall. Internment will take place at East Lawn Mortuary & Sierra Hills Memorial Park in Sacramento at 2:30pm. Flowers and memorial donations can be sent to East Lawn (5757 Greenback Ln, Sacramento, CA 95841).