with her two daughters during early years.
JoAnn Pearl Snowden-Stewart was a beautiful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend who will be missed by all who knew her.
Born on April 25, 1947 and raised in Chicago, Illinois, JoAnn was the third child born to the union of John Willis Snowden and Charlie Mae Brown. The Snowden family grew up on Chicago’s south side, where JoAnn attended James McCosh (now Emmitt Till) Elementary School, a Chicago Public School. As a young child, JoAnn attended Sunday School at Coppin AME Church.
JoAnn attended Englewood High School and was very active as a majorette baton twirler, performing in parades, school functions and with the marching band. After high school, she worked at Walgreens as a cashier. Thereafter, she was employed by the Metropolitan Sanitary District. JoAnn attended Wilson Junior College (now Kennedy-King Community College.) There, she met and later married Walter Stewart.
To that union, two children were born Kitwana Aisha Stewart and Tahirah Omari Stewart. JoAnn absolutely doted on her girls. They were the light of her life and her “raison d’etre” (reason for being.) Even more than doting on her own girls, her world lit-up when her grandchildren walked into the room.
Aside from loving her children and grandchildren, JoAnn had a love for all things beautiful. She loved music and she was one of the best dancers you could ever hope to meet.
JoAnn was baptized into the body of Christ at the age of twelve, joining Parkway Gardens Christian Church, where she later worked with the Sunday School Ministry. She converted to Catholicism and attended St. Anselm Church, a church she frequented prior to her conversion.
JoAnn Pearl Snowden-Stewart is survived by her mother, Charlie Mae Snowden; her children, Kitwana and Tahirah; her grandchildren, Kameela, Kaliah, Darryl Jr., Nyla and Tyla; her siblings, John (Annie Mae), Gertrude, Charles and Lawrence; and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
The Celebration of Life services for JoAnn Pearl Snowden-Stewart were Friday, October 25, 2019 at Saint Columbanus Church, 331 East 71st Street, Chicago, IL.
