Etta Joann Armstrong Dirickson Obituary

Etta Joann Armstrong Dirickson attended Valhalla High School in El Cajon, CA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Etta Joann Armstrong Dirickson.

Graduation Year	Class of 1976
Date of Passing	Jun 22, 2013
About	Etta “JoAnn” Dirickson, 54, of Amarillo died Saturday, June 22, 2013. http://amarillo.com/obituaries/2013-06-25/etta-joann-dirickson Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday in LaGrone-Blackburn-Shaw Funeral HOME Coulter Road Chapel with the Rev. Ed Sweeney as celebrant. Arrangements are by LaGrone-Blackburn-Shaw Funeral Directors, Coulter Road Chapel, 8310 S. Coulter St. JoAnn was born May 15, 1959, in San Diego to Earl Dean and Etta Armstrong. She graduated from Valhalla High School in El Cajon, Calife, at 16. She married at 18 and moved to West Texas in 1979. It was there that she exchanged cultural lessons with her new found family and friends. She soon moved to Oklahoma and, in 1983, moved to Alaska, where she delighted in the outdoors. In 1994, JoAnn returned to Texas, where she graduated from West Texas A&M UNIVERSITY AND started a career in education. Though her career began at Amarillo College, she found her passion at Bowie Middle School teaching many subjects in their English as a Second Language department. She perfected her art of teaching and after eight years became an ESL Curricular Coordinator for Amarillo Independent School District. JoAnn passed away June 22, 2013 at Baptist St. Anthony’s Hospital in Amarillo. “I hope the exit is joyful and I hope to return.” — Frida Kahlo. She was preceded in death by her FATHER. Survivors include her mother, Etta Wood; a sister, Jan Wendt; a brother, Mark Armstrong; her sons, Josh and wife Laura, Jordan and wife Xenia and Justin Dirickson; a daughter, Ellery Gosset and husband Qlo; and five grandchildren, Tyler, Todd, Bonne, Sedra and Clementine.