When she was four, Jo Anne Wiegers was a gregarious little girl; after she would exhaust her parents in conversation, she was known to march to any neighbor’s house and find a new audience. Years later, she found her perfect match in Gordon Bair. Just last month, when talking about how much she loved Gordon, she said her favorite thing to do was sit across the table from him and “chatter like chipmunks.” Jo Anne talked with her mother nearly every day of her life and passed that tradition along to her daughters, Mandy and Cindy. Hardly a day went by that she didn’t call or message them.
Jo Anne was a voracious reader, enthusiastic quilter, and even a bowler. She loved to travel, and along the way collect fabric, tea pots, and gifts for her friends and family. Shopping for others was Jo Anne’s love language. Their travels took Jo Anne and Gordon across the United States, as well as to South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Africa. Recent trips included seeing the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC and cruising to Alaska. However, their favorite destination was always the north shore of Lake Superior to visit Gooseberry Falls, the tugboat Edna G, and Grand Marais, where she was particularly fond of Artist’s Point and the World’s Best Donut shop.
Closer to home, Jo Anne earned her bachelor’s degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University, graduating alongside her daughter Mandy in 1988. She was also a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church and served in multiple leadership roles. Helping to restore the sanctuary and the organ are two of her proudest achievements. She was a member of PEO, Chapter V for 61 years, again serving in almost every role. Jo Anne was always singing, whether to Barry Manilow or the Beatles at home, or in the Lancaster County Chorus and Eastmont Choir.
As a sales associate at the Bernina Sewing Studio for over a decade, she loved spending time with colleagues and customers. She would come home with new projects to try and sometimes even a new sewing machine or two. Almost every other week for several decades she’d gather with her friends, the Material Girls and Faded Blossoms, to share projects and stories.
Her greatest triumph, however, was her 60-year marriage to Gordon. Who would have guessed that a blind date on July 4th would result in a marriage filled with so much fun and joy? They spent their days swapping news, getting ice cream, caring for their dogs, grilling steaks, and getting together with their many friends: card group, dinner group, Crosstalk, Waverly High School Class 1965, and later their new community at Eastmont. They were also very proud of their nieces and nephew, their families and their accomplishments.
Together, they also excelled at parenting. Jo Anne cultivated a love of reading and music in her daughters. She encouraged them in piano, band, dance, never missing a single performance. Over the last six decades the three of them would talk about Nebraska volleyball and football, soap operas, politics, Jane Austen, and nearly everything else. In a life that spanned nearly eighty years, that young, chatty Jo Anne Weigers quilted together a world of family and friends—and never needed to wander in search of companionship again.
Jo Anne is survived by her husband Gordon, daughters Amanda Bair and Cynthia Bair Van Dam (Brad). She will be missed by her brother John (Chris) Wiegers and their children Andrea (Ivan) Haas and Carly (Kyle) Parrish, and sister-in-law Susan Mason, and her children Ashley (Evan) Mason and Eric Mason.
Services to celebrate Jo Anne Bair will include a visitation with family on Wednesday, Sept. 9th from 5:00-8:00 pm at Roper and Sons Funeral Home at 4300 O Street and a funeral on Thursday, Sept. 10th at 11:00 am at First United Methodist Church, luncheon to follow.
Memorials may be made in Jo Anne’s honor to First United Methodist Church or Nebraska Wesleyan University.