Jo Lynette Griffith Farabee, 1969–2020

Jo Lynette Griffith Farabee, loving mother, wife and sister, passed away peacefully at home in Liberty, Tuesday, July 28, at the age of 51.

Jo was born Oct. 19, 1968, and grew up in Liberty. She always had an infectious laugh and a smile that lit up the room. She was always active in 4-H and FFA and graduated from Liberty High School in 1987. She attended Sam Houston State University and returned to Liberty to work at the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. The last 24 years she spent as a 911 dispatcher at the Baytown Police Department, which made for great stories and hilarious Facebook posts. 

Jo married Mike Farabee in February 2001 and they had a son, Jake, and two daughters, Megan and Mikaela, who were the lights of her life. She devoted much of her time to making crafts and treats for special occasions. Everyone at school was happy to see Jo coming because she always had a smile and something handmade especially for those she adored. 

First and foremost, Jo was a dedicated and devoted mother. She treasured every moment with her girls. From Girl Scouts to the Liberty High School Band, if they were involved, Jo was there volunteering, planning and mostly working behind the scenes. She could most often be found behind a camera documenting every moment not only of the girl’s lives, but the lives of everyone she loved. Jo defined “documenting” as spending endless hours in her well stocked and meticulously organized craft room creating scrapbooks that would make Martha Stewart envious. 

She enjoyed road-tripping across America with her family and never passed up a zoo anywhere along the way. Jo even learned to love camping, albeit in an RV with all the comforts of home. Her passion was Disney — literally anything Disney, and she treasured her many trips to Walt Disney World. Jo was infamous for her bargain hunting. Therefore, she was in her element when she could combine the things she loved into a discounted family Disney trip where she painstakingly planned every single moment and had the app to prove it. Upon her return, she somehow managed to pack one week’s photos into four very full and extravagant scrapbooks. 

Jo was preceded in death by her parents, Larry Griffith, Reita Katherine Norman Colwell and Harrell Colwell and her infant son, Jacob Michael Farabee. 

She will be sorely missed and survived by her husband, Michael Farabee; children, Megan and Mikaela Farabee; siblings, Lloyd Griffith of Liberty, Scotty Nugent of Liberty and husband Mike, and Russell Fairchild of Stephenville; brother-in-law, Dwayne Farabee of Dickinson and wife Betty; sister-in-law, Diane Kahler-Bird of Richland, North Carolina; nieces and nephews, Cody, Kelsey, Shane, Jennifer and Aly; numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.   

A celebration of Jo’s life will be held Saturday, Aug. 1, at the First United Methodist Church of Liberty at 10 a.m. She will then be laid to rest at Cooke Memorial Cemetery. 

Please join the family and her many friends at Allison Funeral Home on Friday, July 31, from 5 to 8 p.m. to visit, reminisce and admire some of those infamous scrapbooks. 

Serving as pallbearers are Lloyd Griffith, Russell Fairchild, Ray Smith, Dwayne Farabee, Cody Odell and Bill Cody Odell. 

Honorary pallbearers are Phillip Woolls, Shane Guesnard, The Liberty High School Band and the Baytown Police Department.  

We all loved her dearly and will never forget her contagious laugh, huge smile and her undying love for us.