Jo Anne (Phelps) McCarty, 89, passed away peacefully at Hospice Quality Care in Midwest City on July 22, 2020. Born June 15, 1931 to Colonel A. and Maude (Sims) Phelps in Tampa, Florida, she completed Hillsborough High School then earned a degree in dietetics at Florida State University. In 1954 she married Charles R. Crane, Jr., and together they had four children, Steven Russell, Linda Jo, Michael Bruce, and Lisa Anne.
Having moved to Norman in 1961, Jo Anne later began working as a Dietitian, first at Norman Municipal Hospital, then at various nursing homes, Goddard Health Center, and then finally at Eastern State Hospital in Vinita until she retired in 1997.
While at Goddard she met and married Robert P. McCarty in 1987 and lived on Vine Street until his death in 1990. Upon retirement she then built her well-deserved dream home on Windjammer Street in Norman where she enjoyed gardening and spending time with her children and grandchildren. She also loved animals, reading, crocheting, cooking for her family, listening to music, and playing the piano. She was also an active leader in Bluebirds and Campfire Girls with Linda and Lisa, taking them on campouts and candy sales.
Jo Anne is survived by her daughter, Linda (Greg) Fitter of Norman and their children Seth Russell and Madison Haley; by her son, Mike (Martha) of Henderson, Texas and their children Benjamin Wylie (Angie) and their son Forrest Steven Michael, James Tucker, and Anne Kathryn (Daniel) Hocking; and by her daughter, Lisa (Ross) Whitman of Spring, Texas and their children Jessica Caitlin (Scott) Strickland, Dylan Walker (Miranda) Whitman, and Jacob Ryan Whitman. She is also survived by her sister Ruth Maurine Whitman of Sautee, Georgia and her brother George Thomas Phelps of Jacksonville, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be considered to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org or the Children’s Hospital Foundation at www.chfkids.com.