Josephine Edith Ebert-Holton passed away in the evening of December 31st, 2016, surrounded by her loved ones in rural Downing, Missouri.

Jo was born September 5th, 1922, to Fred Otto Bollin and Edith Trouper in Friendship, Wisconsin. She had six brothers and one sister and the family moved several times in her youth before settling in Little Falls, Minnesota.

When she turned 18, her quest for independence drew her to Nauvoo, Illinois, where she enjoyed the freedom afforded her by her income from working in the local vineyards and orchards. Jo was never one to be outdone and one day when a co-worker, Fred Ebert, began to tease her, she threw a bucket of water on him. The two became close as a result of this incident and from those unorthodox origins, a romance blossomed; not long after, the two were married.

She married Fred Eldon Ebert in April of 1945. To this union four children were born: Michael Fred Ebert (1945), Cynthia Elaine Dixon (1948), Daniel Lee Ebert (1953), and Bradley Steven Ebert (1959). In 1964, Fred and Jo moved to Milton, Iowa and Jo worked for McGill's Greenhouse in nearby Bloomfield, Iowa.

In 1977, Fred passed away and in 1978 Jo moved to a farm they had purchased near Downing, Missouri, where she worked at DeRosear's Greenhouse for several years. She then became an independent landscaping contractor and kindled a lifelong passion for horticulture.

In 1987, she married Robert Holton and relocated to his home in rural Memphis, Missouri, where she lived until recent months when her health worsened.

One of the things Jo was most passionate about was the importance of education. Due to the time in which she was raised, her father only permitted Jo and her sister to receive an 8th grade education, but in 1972, she returned to school and completed her GED. She was an advocate of knowledge for its own sake and she took lessons in painting, typing, and playing guitar when the opportunities arose. When her children or grandchildren pursued higher education or any other dream, Jo supported them in every sense and always sought to make herself an active part of their goals.

Jo was preceded in death by her six brothers; one sister; her daughter, Cynthia Dixon; her son, Michael Ebert and her first husband, Fred Ebert.

She is survived by her second husband, Robert Holton; her sons: Daniel Ebert and Bradley Ebert; 8 step-children; 13 grandchildren and her many great-grandchildren.